Next-Gen Blade Runner Game by Until Dawn Studio Reportedly Canceled

Supermassive Games, the acclaimed studio behind horror adventures such as Until Dawn, The Quarry, and The Dark Pictures anthology series, has reportedly ceased development on an unannounced Blade Runner game. According to a report by Insider Gaming, Supermassive was working on a game titled "Blade Runner: Time To Live," described as a "character focused, cinematic, action adventure." Set in the year 2065, the story would have followed the last Blade Runner, a vintage Nexus-6 model named So-Lange. So-Lange was on a mission to retire the leader of an underground replicant network but was betrayed and left for dead in a harsh environment. The gameplay was intended to be split into sections of stealth, combat, exploration, investigation, and dramatic character interactions.

Insider Gaming reported that Blade Runner: Time To Live had a full development budget of approximately $45 million, with $9 million allocated specifically for external performance capture and acting talent. The game was said to feature a 10-12 hour single-player story, with pre-production starting in September 2024 and a planned release in September 2027 for PC and both current and next-generation consoles.

The project reportedly fell apart due to an issue with Alcon Entertainment, the company that owns the rights to the Blade Runner franchise, leading to its cancellation sometime late last year.

In a separate development, publisher Annapurna Interactive announced in the summer of 2023 that it would be developing its first in-house game based on the Blade Runner franchise, titled "Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth." This was described as the first Blade Runner game in 25 years, though no further updates have been provided since the initial announcement.

Supermassive Games has been managing multiple projects, including the next installment in the Dark Pictures series, titled "Directive 8020," and the development of "Little Nightmares 3." The studio faced significant challenges last year, announcing layoffs affecting around 90 workers, as reported by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, as it entered a "period of consultation."

On a brighter note, fans of Supermassive's work can look forward to the cinematic adaptation of Until Dawn hitting theaters this weekend. For those interested, you can read our review of David F. Sandberg's take on Until Dawn for the big screen.