The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, retitled in later iterations as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, is one of many enduring slasher flicks from the 1970s and 1980s. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre's influence has carried Leatherface through franchise crossovers into Mortal Kombat X and Dead by Daylight, as well as prolific spiritual sequels and continuity reboots.
The Game Awards 2021 included an official announcement teaser for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre from Gun Interactive, the publisher of Friday the 13th: The Game. While Friday the 13th: The Game's development was unfortunately ceased last year due to license issues between the original film's creators, now Gun Interactive has leapt to another massively popular slasher franchise that could succeed in its place.
Where The Texas Chain Saw Massacre's Multiplayer Can Succeed
Gun Interactive and Sumo Nottingham's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre takes direct inspiration from the original 1974 film. Based upon Ed Gein's grisly murders, Leatherface and his sadistic family of murderous cannibals kidnap and cook their unsuspecting victims at a family ranch in rural Texas. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre's announcement trailer on Thursday evokes this gruesome atmosphere in-and-around the Sawyer residence, where at least one map in the game will take place.
Friday the 13th: The Game's development termination did not result from a critical or commercial failure. Friday the 13th: The Game was unfortunately struck with license ownership issues that were pursued, and thus Gun's access to the license was revoked. Unlike Friday the 13th: The Game, however, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre appears to be free from the same concerns, at least for now.
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This already positions The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in a beneficial spot since Gun and Sumo would surely not have moved forward with the intellectual property if they were to encounter the same issues as in Friday the 13th. Having learned from this debacle, Gun and Sumo can hopefully press on and have access to the franchise as they see fit.
Slasher veteran Kane Hodder, who provided motion capture for Friday the 13th: The Game's Jason, has recently been confirmed to play Leatherface in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Hodder's involvement in a new horror game was teased last year, so it appears as though The Texas Chain Saw Massacre's development picked up roughly around the same time as Friday the 13th: The Game's server shutdown.
The delineation between The Texas Chain Saw Massacre being called "Chain Saw" rather than "Chainsaw" further emphasizes its association to the original source material. Gun's attention to detail and respect for slasher source material is proven thanks to its work on Friday the 13th: The Game, so it's clear that Gun intends to pay tribute to Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) directly.
Next-generation platforms also offer Gun and Sumo the opportunity to present The Texas Chain Saw Massacre with more graphical fidelity to immerse players. With claustrophobic, dingy interiors that house dessicated bodies and furniture composed of human bones, the game may have a greater pull with its exceptionally repulsive visuals.
How The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Can Iterate upon Friday the 13th: The Game
Gun has a unique opportunity to observe what made Leatherface so iconic in other video game adapations and iterate upon these concepts. Details about The Texas Chain Saw Massacre have not been disclosed beyond it being a multiplayer experience. But with Gun having published Friday the 13th: The Game, it seems evident that The Texas Chain Saw Massacre will follow a comparable blueprint as a multiplayer horror game, even if its fundamental gameplay mechanics fare differently.
However, if Gun's newest multiplayer title plans to achieve the same cult following that its predecessor has, it must lean into a component that is crucial to the success of many modern multiplayer games: downloadable content that features new cosmetics, characters, and location expansions. Similar to Friday the 13th: The Game, it is probable that future DLC for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre will expand upon its initial content with nostalgic memorabilia from installments in its extended franchise.
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Friday the 13th: The Game features five maps that were associated with the franchise's first five films. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has a larger hurdle to discern with its iteration of the franchise because, based on its particular title and trailer, it seems Gun wishes to highlight the first film exclusively. Only having content from the first film in a multiplayer game could become stale quickly after launch if gameplay loops are not adaptive and imaginative, but post-launch DLC could rectify this restriction.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre's franchise consists of eight films with a ninth, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, arriving early next year as a supposed direct sequel to the 1974 film. Texas Chainsaw Massacre could offer cross-promotional material for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre's asymmetrical multiplayer, which has not yet been given a release window. Purist fans of the franchise's roots may not mind such a restriction, but it would sever the opportunity to amass a wider playerbase if content from subsequent installments was withheld.
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The Texas Chainsaw Massacre's theatrical franchise is full of convoluted connections between its original films, a remake continuity, and two alternate continuities, but each has their own memorable moments to draw from. Further, this would allow for numerous characters or skin cosmetics that could be added to the asymmetrical survivor ensemble, such as Marilyn Burns' Sally Hardesty, Renee Zellweger's Jenny, or Alexandra Daddario's Heather Mills - also known as Edith Rose Sawyer.
Plans were discussed for an Among Us-styled 'deduction mode' in Friday the 13th: The Game, but while that may never see the light of day, Gun has the opportunity now to introduce it into The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Other potentially canned ideas and concepts may also make their way into The Texas Chain Saw Massacre if its gameplay design is similar, though it may be a while until fans learn what its gameplay will entail. It is unfortunate that Gun had to part ways with Friday the 13th, but it is equally exciting for Gun to have landed another iconic, watershed horror franchise for it to move forward with.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is in development for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.