Andrea Pessino, co-founder of Ready at Dawn, revealed that Sony declined a sequel to the PlayStation 4 game, *The Order: 1886*, due to its lukewarm critical reception. Despite this, Pessino expressed that Ready at Dawn was eager to create an "incredible" sequel, emphasizing their passion for the project and the desire to deliver it to the fans. *The Order: 1886*, released in 2015, was set in Victorian London and featured werewolves, becoming notable for its stunning graphics but receiving average reviews from critics.
Pessino shared that the proposed sequel would have been exceptional, though he couldn't elaborate further due to not owning the franchise rights. He admitted that Ready at Dawn pitched the sequel to Sony despite the first game's reception, acknowledging that accepting Sony's terms would have put the studio in a precarious financial position. He stated, "We pitched the sequel to Sony regardless of [the critical reception] and, in a way, it's better that they passed because if we thought we were going to be screwed before, man, with the sequel, we would have signed our life away."
The development of the original game was fraught with challenges, including a strained relationship with Sony. Ready at Dawn had to make significant cuts to meet deadlines and released the game prematurely, according to Pessino. Sony's expectations for graphical fidelity, based on early pitches, led to withheld payments when the studio couldn't maintain those standards during development. Pessino noted that while this is typical in the industry, it resulted in a difficult dynamic with Sony.
Despite the potential for a tough financial arrangement, Ready at Dawn was willing to proceed with the sequel out of a desire to redeem the franchise. Pessino explained, "We were going to do it just because we wanted to deliver it to the players but we would have been... Terrible budget, budget would be small, we would have been completely at the mercy of any decisions and things because we had no leverage whatsoever."
The original game ended on a cliffhanger, leaving fans hopeful for a sequel. However, with Ready at Dawn's closure by Meta in 2024, those hopes have been extinguished. IGN's review of *The Order: 1886* gave it a 6/10, stating, "Though a stylish adventure, The Order: 1886 emphasizes its cinematic polish at the crippling cost of gameplay freedom."
