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

Supermassive Games, renowned for their gripping horror adventures such as Until Dawn, The Quarry, and the anthology series The Dark Pictures, has reportedly halted development on an unannounced game set in the iconic Blade Runner universe. According to Insider Gaming, the project titled "Blade Runner: Time To Live" was envisioned as a "character-focused, cinematic, action-adventure" experience centered around the last Blade Runner in the year 2065. The narrative would have followed a vintage Nexus-6 replicant named So-Lange, tasked with the mission to retire the leader of an underground replicant network. Betrayed and left for dead in a harsh environment, the gameplay was set to include elements of stealth, combat, exploration, investigation, and intense character interactions.

Insider Gaming revealed that Blade Runner: Time To Live had a development budget of approximately $45 million, with $9 million specifically allocated 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 date of September 2027 on PC, as well as current and next-generation consoles. However, the project reportedly disintegrated due to complications with Alcon Entertainment, the rights holder for the Blade Runner franchise, leading to its cancellation late last year.

In related news, in the summer of 2023, publisher Annapurna Interactive announced their foray into in-house game development with "Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth," marking the first Blade Runner game in 25 years. Since the initial announcement, updates on this project have been scarce.

Amidst these developments, Supermassive Games has been managing multiple projects, including the upcoming installment in the Dark Pictures series titled Directive 8020 and work on Little Nightmares 3. The studio faced challenges last year, announcing layoffs affecting around 90 employees as it entered 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 those interested, our review of David F. Sandberg's take on Until Dawn for the big screen is available here.