Unannounced Supermassive Games Project Reportedly Canceled

Supermassive Games started in 2008 by Pete Samuels, who got his experience working with Psygnosis and Electronic Arts. It took some time for them to get some momentum by working on side projects until a partnership with the BBC. They were contracted to make the first of a trilogy of Doctor Who games called The Eternity Clock. Once they had a working demo and showed it, it wasn’t received very well, and it didn’t take long for the BBC to cancel the game, as well as the next two.

Blade Runner wasn’t the first canceled project, but thanks to Supermassive Games’ perseverance after Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock got hacked, the BBC signed another partnership project. In the following year, they were working and released Wonderbook: Walking with Dinosaurs, which was released in 2013. Since that time, they have brought several monster hits, shaping their identity in the gaming industry.

Time To Live

The information on the canceled Blade Runner game was patterned after the Blade Runner movie 2049. The game was called Time To Live, taking place in the year 2065. It would follow the story of So-Lange, who was assigned to take out a replicant underground leader, only to be betrayed. Its gaming style was going to be a combination of stealth, combat, investigation, and analysis, with dramatic character cut scenes.

The game was set up and began with a healthy budget of around $45 million, with an additional $9 million for securing acting talent for the game. It had already developed over 10 hours of single-player story. It was all slated for a mid-2027 release for PC and popular consoles. It appears that the game was canceled due to complications with Alcon Entertainment, who own the rights to Blade Runner.

More Than an Original

For Blade Runner fans, this is a heavy blow as it doesn’t appear to be any sign of the game being put back in development. If you had your heart set on taking part in the Blade Runner universe, there is the earlier game by Westwood Studios that was released late in 1997. The story followed Ridley Scott from the original film, Blade Runner, which came out in 1982.

Its plot differed from the Supermassive Games adaptation as it was more of a sidequel that told a story parallel to the original film’s plot, where they would combine occasionally. It tells the story of Ray McCoy in Los Angeles, who was also sent out to hunt several dangerous replicants, just like the movie. The game does share a lot with the movie, as several of the characters are voiced by the same actors, as well as the film’s music.

There is Reason for Hope

There is also another game made by Annapurna set after the movie called Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth. The timing takes place between the two movies. It does a fantastic job filling in the gaps of what happened in the time between the two movies. If you are a die-hard Blade Runner fan, then it is a must-play.

It is unfortunate that we have lost an opportunity to play Supermassive Games, as the timing would have been perfect for its release. There is a new television show called Blade Runner 2099 that was going to be available on Amazon Prime and is due to finish filming in December 2024. Although this is bad news for Blade Runner fans, things are still going well for Supermassive Games as they are still on track to release titles like Directive 8020 to come out in October.