Supermassive Games, renowned for crafting immersive horror experiences such as Until Dawn, The Quarry, and The Dark Pictures anthology series, has reportedly halted development on a previously unannounced Blade Runner game. According to Insider Gaming, the project titled "Blade Runner: Time To Live" was envisioned as a "character focused, cinematic, action adventure" set in the year 2065. The narrative would have followed So-Lange, a vintage Nexus-6 model and the last Blade Runner, tasked with eliminating the leader of an underground replicant network. Betrayed and left for dead, So-Lange's journey would have included elements of stealth, combat, exploration, investigation, and dramatic character interactions.
Insider Gaming detailed that the game had a substantial development budget of approximately $45 million, with $9 million allocated for external performance capture and acting talent. The game was planned to offer a 10-12 hour single-player experience, with pre-production kicking off in September 2024 and a targeted release in September 2027 for PC and both current and next-generation consoles. However, the project reportedly collapsed due to complications with Alcon Entertainment, the rights holder for the Blade Runner franchise, leading to its cancellation sometime late last year.
In other Blade Runner-related news, publisher Annapurna Interactive unveiled its first in-house game, "Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth," in the summer of 2023. Touted as the first Blade Runner game in 25 years, details on this project have been scarce since its announcement.
Amid these developments, Supermassive Games has been busy with multiple projects, including the next installment in the Dark Pictures series, Directive 8020, and work on Little Nightmares 3. The studio also faced significant challenges last year, announcing layoffs affecting around 90 employees as part of a "period of consultation," according to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier.
On a brighter note, fans of Supermassive's work can look forward to the cinematic adaptation of Until Dawn hitting theaters this weekend. For more insights, you can read our review of David F. Sandberg's take on Until Dawn for the big screen.
