Next-Gen Blade Runner Game Scrapped by Until Dawn Studio

Supermassive Games, renowned for their horror adventures 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, the game, titled Blade Runner: Time To Live, was described as a "character-focused, cinematic, action-adventure" set in 2065. It would have followed the story of So-Lange, a vintage Nexus-6 model tasked with retiring the leader of an underground replicant network. After being betrayed and left for dead, So-Lange's journey would have been divided into segments of stealth, combat, exploration, investigation, and dramatic character interactions.

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

The cancellation of the project reportedly stemmed from issues with Alcon Entertainment, the rights holder for the Blade Runner franchise, and occurred sometime late last year.

In related news, publisher Annapurna Interactive announced in the summer of 2023 their intention to develop their first in-house game based on the Blade Runner franchise, titled Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth. Marketed as the first Blade Runner game in 25 years, there have been no further updates on this project since its announcement.

Supermassive Games has been busy with multiple projects, including the upcoming Directive 8020 in the Dark Pictures series and Little Nightmares 3. Amidst these developments, the studio faced challenges, announcing layoffs of around 90 employees last year as reported by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, entering a "period of consultation."

On a different 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 [ttpp].