Not that long ago we learned that Prey 2, one of the major highlight presentations from E3 2011, was no longer in development at Human Head Studios and had instead been transferred to Arkane Studios. This news came as a major disappointment, and reinforced earlier reports that the relationship between Human Head and parent company ZeniMax was on very rocky ground.
Now we are hearing reports that Prey 2 is not in development at Arkane, and might still be in Human Head's hands. The once promising game is still undergoing major changes; we just have no idea what they are and whether or not we will ever see them.
The latest news comes courtesy of Bethesda's Pete Hines, who when asked point blank if Arkane was working on Prey 2 responding by saying, "No." He elaborated by saying that the rumors/reports that the Dishonored developer was taking on Prey 2 were unfounded, and that Arkane is busy working on their own projects — presumably Dishonored 2.
“No. All of that stuff, I have no idea where it came from. The Human Head Prey 2 thing is the Human Head Prey 2 thing. Arkane is over here, and they’re doing their thing, and that’s for them to work on. We’ll be ready to talk about what they’re working on when it gets closer to release.”
Hines then reiterated what we had been hearing for the better part of a year — that Prey 2 was not meeting Bethesda or ZeniMax's quality standards. It was likely well on its way to completion, but Hines and his team were not prepared to put out a product without guaranteeing gamers would like it. Parent company ZeniMax did renew the Prey 2 trademark, though, which suggests they still have faith that the game will hit store shelves.
Nevertheless, Prey 2 is still apparently in some sort of strange limbo state. It's unclear whether Human Head is still working on the sequel, but we now know that Arkane is not. Unfortunately, that's about all we know.
In other Bethesda news, we have also learned that Wolfenstein: The New Order, the latest entry in the popular Nazi-killing franchise, has been delayed into 2014. Pete Hines was again on hand to break the news (this time to Polygon), and said that several factors went into the decision to delay Wolfenstein.
Among the reasons cited for the delay include developer MachineGames implementation of several gameplay experiences beyond those of a traditional FPS, as well as a multiplatform release that crosses generations. With Microsoft and Sony still trying to nail down hard specs for their next-gen machines, the Xbox One and PS4 respectively, that likely posed some problems for MachineGames.
As a result, Bethesda decided it was better to push Wolfenstein: The New Order's release into next year, rather than put out an inferior product. It seems a dedication to quality products is a popular theme for Bethesda these days.
Do you think Prey 2 will ever see the light of day? How do you feel about Wolfenstein: The New Order getting pushed back?
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