"Next-Gen Blade Runner Game Scrapped by Until Dawn Studio"

Supermassive Games, renowned for their gripping horror titles such as Until Dawn, The Quarry, and the Dark Pictures anthology, has reportedly halted development on a previously unannounced Blade Runner game.

According to Insider Gaming, Supermassive was crafting a "character focused, cinematic, action adventure" titled Blade Runner: Time To Live. Set in the year 2065, the game was to follow the journey of So-Lange, a vintage Nexus-6 model and the last Blade Runner. Tasked with eliminating the leader of a hidden replicant network, So-Lange faces betrayal and is left stranded in a hostile environment. The gameplay would have been segmented into elements of stealth, combat, exploration, investigation, and intense character interactions.

Insider Gaming revealed that Blade Runner: Time To Live was backed by a development budget of approximately $45 million, which included $9 million allocated for external performance capture and acting talent. The project was slated to offer a 10-12 hour single-player experience, entered pre-production in September 2024, and was expected to launch in September 2027 across PC and both current and next-generation consoles.

The cancellation of the game, as reported by Insider Gaming, stemmed from a dispute with Alcon Entertainment, the rights holder for Blade Runner. The project was reportedly terminated late last year.

In other Blade Runner-related news, Annapurna Interactive announced in the summer of 2023 that they were developing their first in-house game, Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth, marking the first Blade Runner game in 25 years. However, there have been no further updates on this project.

Amidst these developments, Supermassive Games has been busy with other projects, including the upcoming Dark Pictures installment, Directive 8020, and Little Nightmares 3. Last year, the studio faced layoffs, with around 90 employees affected, as reported by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, during a "period of consultation."

On a brighter note, fans of Supermassive's work can look forward to the theatrical release of the Until Dawn movie this weekend. For more details, you can read our review of David F. Sandberg's adaptation of Until Dawn for the big screen.