In an interview with Australian publication Finder, Bethesda's Pete Hines discusses the possibility of sequels to horror game The Evil Within and id Software's Rage.

Over the last five years, Bethesda has established itself as a publishing powerhouse, expanding its portfolio of games to not only include long-awaited sequels to established franchises, but some exciting new IP as well. Two of the most popular original offerings Bethesda has published to date are Rage and The Evil Within, yet neither game has received a sequel yet. However, according to Bethesda VP Pete Hines, both games sold well enough to justify new releases in their respective series.

Hines made this comment in an interview with Finder, but was sure to make clear that he was not actually confirming the games. However, he also said that Bethesda has "a lot of stuff in the pipeline," so it is certainly possible that sequels to Rage and The Evil Within are already in development.

If The Evil Within and Rage have sequels on the way, it seems likely that they would be revealed at next year's E3 event. Bethesda hasn't confirmed that it will be in attendance at E3 2017, but the company has enjoyed some success at its first two E3 press conferences, so it's probable it will return. In fact, its E3 2015 press conference was widely praised at the time, thanks to some impressive Doom and Fallout 4 showings.

Rage Behind the Scenes The Wasteland

So, what are the odds that these games are in development and due for an E3 reveal? Well, for The Evil Within, the odds seem pretty high. For one, the game broke some sales records at the time of its release, and while not the most critically acclaimed game from Shinji Mikami, it released to decent reviews as well. Secondly, it launched in 2014, and we haven't heard a peep about what Mikami and his Tango Gameworks crew have been working on these past couple of years, but a sequel to The Evil Within would make the most sense. Furthermore, an Evil Within sequel was even rumored to be shown by Bethesda at this past year's E3, but the game was MIA.

As for Rage 2, that seems less likely than The Evil Within. The first Rage had a longer-than-usual development cycle, and the game didn't earn the same acclaim as some of id Software's earlier titles. id also just wrapped up development on the Doom reboot not too long ago, and is still working on DLC and updates for that game. Besides supporting Doom, id is also hard at work on the online shooter Quake Champions, so it may have too much on its plate right now to be worrying about a Rage sequel.

Ultimately, fans will just have to wait and see if sequels to Rage and The Evil Within are in the works or not. If the games do exist, expect to see them at E3 or The Game Awards, as Bethesda has been known to announce games at those events in the past.

Rage is available now for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. The Evil Within is available for PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

Source: Finder