Summary
- Supermassive Games scrapped a Blade Runner game called “Time to Live,” featuring 10-12 hours of story content.
- The canceled project had a budget of $45 million, with $9 million allocated for performance capture and actor expenses.
- Despite the cancellation, Supermassive Games still plans to release Directive 8020 on October 2, 2025, and Little Nightmares 3 later this year.
An unannounced Supermassive Games title, based on the highly popular Blade Runner franchise, was reportedly scrapped in late 2024. If true, it would have been the second project based on a sci-fi IP for Supermassive Games, besides 2012’s Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock.
Over the past decade or so, Supermassive Games has cemented its place in the horror genre, thanks to releases such as Until Dawn and The Quarry. Moreover, it has also become known for featuring renowned Hollywood celebrities, such as Rami Malek, Will Poulter, and Ashley Tisdale, in its various projects. In particular, Supermassive Games has been prolific in shipping titles in The Dark Pictures Anthology series, having rolled out five different entries since 2019. In a new development, it was revealed that the British studio had recently been working on a Blade Runner game that was still under wraps when it was canceled.
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Blade Runner: Time to Live, a third-person action-adventure game by Supermassive Games, was canceled last year due to disagreements with IP owner Alcon Entertainment, per Insider Gaming. The report shared that the game was “character-focused” and “cinematic,” with 10–12 hours of single-player story content that merged the “philosophical themes of Blade Runner with kinetic action-adventure gameplay.” The player would take charge of So-Lange, an old Nexus-6 model in the year 2065, who must make their way through New Zurich 2065 after being stranded in a hostile situation. The source highlighted that the game’s core gameplay featured combat, stealth, exploration and investigation, and “dramatic” interactions among characters with “authentic, punchy, and poignant” dialogue. Moreover, it revolved around “themes” such as using in-game tech to carry out investigations, leveraging memories to piece together the story, and upgrading skills and abilities.
Supermassive’s Blade Runner Game was Reportedly Axed
Blade Runner: Time to Live was targeting a September 2027 launch across PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and “Gen 10” PlayStation and Xbox consoles. The Until Dawn studio put aside $45 million for the canceled project, excluding the costs of image rights and usage fees for performers, original music, QA and testing, localization, and possible expansions. Out of this budget, $9 million was solely intended to cover performance capture and actor-related expenses. Furthermore, it was revealed that the game, described as “rather impressive” by an insider, kicked off pre-production in September 2024 under the aegis of The Quarry devs. As per the original plans, this phase was planned to conclude in March 2025, with prototypes following in September.
Fortunately, Supermassive Games is still on course to roll out at least a couple of games this year. On the one hand, the survival horror title Directive 8020 is scheduled for release on October 2, 2025. On the other hand, there’s the horror platformer Little Nightmares 3, which is set to finally arrive at some point this year after missing its original 2024 release window.
Supermassive Games
- Date Founded
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2008
- Headquarters
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Guildford, United Kingdom
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