With Bethesda continuing to experience struggles with Fallout 76, id Software has managed to swoop in and score a major win for the company with Doom Eternal. The follow up to the well recieved 2016 shooter, Doom Eternal continues to evolve and push the shooter formula forward. One such advancement for the franchise is the Slayer's Fortress of Doom, a sprawling location that can be upgraded over time. It's also home to a lot of secrets and Easter eggs.
One such Easter egg was discovered by a user on Resetera. While walking around the Slayer's room in Doom Eternal, the user noticed a bookshelf with nicknacks and other things on it. As the captured image shows, the bookshelf features a toy Doomguy figure as well as some books with humorous titles and nods to other Bethesda franchises. One such book, which many have speculated is a clear sign that Prey 2 is in development, is called 2 Prey or Not 2 Prey.
While an interesting thing to consider, there's still a lot of questions surrounding the potential future of the Prey franchise. The biggest reason Bethesda may side on the Not 2 Prey side is the fact that the game ultimately underperformed. Opening week sales were down more than half of what Arkane's previous title, Dishonored 2, managed to do in the first week. Worse yet, Prey's only major competition at launch was Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the Switch which it lost to in the first week.
While sales may not have boomed, Prey did manage to score well with critics and fans who experienced the title. The game went on to receive numerous free updates including Survival, New Game Plus, as well as a unique online mode where 1 player went up against 5 other players who were mimics. It was an interesting take on hide and seek. Bethesda and Arkane also went on to release a DLC expansion called Mooncrash which took players to a new location that features procedurally generated locations and enemies to make the experience fresh every time it was players.
However, with Arkane having since moved on to its stylish time bending shooter Deathloop, another studio could potentially step in to continue the franchise. Human Head Studios, the troubled former developer of the 2006 Prey, closed its doors late last year. Bethesda was able to swoop in and save the employees by reforming them into a first party developer called Roundhouse Studios. It's unknown was the new, Bethesda-owned studio is now working on, but considering its past experience with the Prey franchise, perhaps they're the team to continue forward with it.
DOOM Eternal is available now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
Source: Resetera