Prior to and during E3 2011, Human Head Studios sought to explain that their forthcoming sequel, Prey 2, wasn't just a retread of the ideas explored in the first game, but was ostensibly a new adventure. Players would take on the role of Killian Samuels, a US Marshal aboard the flight that is transported into the alien world in the Prey 1.

After spending a few years on that alien planet, Samuels becomes a bounty hunter for a wide variety of alien species. And that's Prey 2 in a nutshell — a concept that had us intrigued by its trailer and gameplay preview, but seemed like it might not be all there.

And then came news that development on Prey 2 had come to a screeching halt. In fact, one Human Head Studios employee reported that the developer hadn't touched the project in several months as a form of protest.

There were claims that Bethesda was unhappy with the product, and then they pulled it from their forthcoming line-up (the game was supposed to release some time this year), but through all that the publisher remained resolute that the game was not cancelled. Today's news regarding Prey 2 (if you could call it that) won't convince fans much in either direction, but it will paint a clearer picture of what kind of state Prey 2 is in.

According to Human Head Studios' Nathan Cheever, who posted to Twitter earlier today, the game isn't cancelled, but it is in limbo.

Prey 1 = Indians in Space.Prey 2 = Cowboys in Space. (#Prey2).btw, P2 hasn't been officially canceled, only in limbo.

— Nathan Cheever (@NathanCheever) October 15, 2012

Cheever's decision to include the word "officially" in his tweet suggests that progress is not being made on Prey 2. In fact, we wouldn't be surprised to hear that Bethesda had decided to scrap the project altogether, but had yet to inform Human Head considering there might be some bad blood there.

Furthermore, when contacted for comment by Kotaku, Bethesda replied with a generic statement that said simply, "We don't have any additional information to share on the status of Prey 2."

At one point it was hypothesized that Bethesda might be passing off Prey 2 development to another developer, but now that seems unlikely. Fan response to Prey 2 leaving behind many of the series' trademark elements was decidedly mixed, but when Human Head unveiled their vision, many gamers came around.

However, if Bethesda were to put the project into the hands of a team that isn't closely tied to the franchise, that could re-aggravate fans' uncertainty in regards to the game. When/If Prey 2 gets cancelled, we will be sure to break the news to fans.

Do you think Prey 2 is dead, or is it poised to make a comeback? If Human Head is no longer working on the sequel would that affect your interest?

Source: Nathan Cheever, Kotaku