The Darkness 2 still on the cards

By Fred Dutton Published 8 October, 2010

Legal wranglings standing in the way.

A sequel to the The Darkness is still being planned, comic book publisher Top Cow has revealed, but legal issues are currently impeding progress.

It's been a while since a follow-up to the gloomy, atmospheric shooter was first hinted at, but Joystiq has managed to secure a status update.

Atom! Freeman (yes, that's his real name), Top Cow's sales and marketing director, said, "There are certain rights issues that we needed to clear up in order to move ahead with The Darkness 2. Those are getting cleared up. While there are no specific plans, it is definitely still on all of our minds."

"We loved the game. The fans loved the game. There's no reason to not do another one. Just making sure that all of our ducks are in a row so that we can begin that process."

In July 2009, original developer Starbreeze stated that it would not be involved with any sequel. There's no word yet on who might step into the breach.

The Darkness was released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2007. Eurogamer's Kristan Reed awarded it 8/10.

Picture of Fred.

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (22) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Eighthours #1 2 years ago

    Facebreeze? WTF are you smoking in the EG offices this evening?

  • AnsemsApprentice #2 2 years ago

    I know the first game wasn't exactly perfect but, I loved it. Can't wait for the sequel to be honest, but Starbreeze need to really pull out all the stops (if they are even doing it, which it seems they wont be. . .). The A.I was a bit shit is all.
    Edited by AnsemsApprentice at 08/10/10 @ 23:55

  • M4RV #3 2 years ago

    If Starbreeze isn't involved, there's no point in making the game as far as I'm concerned... It was a flawed title, but as usual with Starbreeze, the atmosphere alone was awesome. :)

  • dudefella #4 2 years ago

    Not the same without Starbreeze.

  • Acrid #5 2 years ago

    Loved the first game, lets hope a quality developer is taking the reigns of the sequel

  • darkmorgado #6 2 years ago

    F*cks sake EG, just ban the phrase "air jordan" already.

  • Lunatic4ever #7 2 years ago

    Let us pray now for there is a glimpse of hope!

  • Silent-Hal #8 2 years ago

    The Darkness makes me look at every other FPS with a shit story and look away in disgust. It's atmosphere and storytelling alone make it a classic.
    Edited by Silent-Hal at 09/10/10 @ 02:44

  • darkmorgado #9 2 years ago

    I agree. the scene where you are forced to watch your girlfriend be killed is one of my biggest "wow" moments in gaming this gen. The game just nailed story and atmosphere perfectly. And it was filled with so many awesome touches, like the phone numbers and the fact you can watch an entire movie with your girlfriend.

  • Raznilof #10 2 years ago

    Like what many others said before: Starbreeze is the reason that the Darkness worked.

    The funky loading screens, the transitions from the apocalype world back and forth, the hub-setup, the whole handling of a story really. They did an amazing job on this just like they did before on Chronicles of Riddick and I don't think any other company (except Valve) would understand so well the relationship between characters/story and how to express these through the use of environment, which is a 'preferred over cutscene' solution for FPS games in my opinion.

  • Lord_Gremlin #11 2 years ago

    I'm not sure The Darkness leaves any room for a sequel. We're done with Jackie, and since Darkness takes over only males of his line at the age of 20 we have no successor.

    Of course there can be some lame excuse, like young Jackie visiting a hooker and here you go - we have a new main character, possessed by Darkness.

  • AllenSpawn #12 2 years ago

    If starbreeze isn't involved it isn't worth it. They know how to create an atmosphere.

    Surely Atom has to be Gordons son! ;)

  • asphaltcowboy #13 2 years ago

    Loved the first. I don't think I've played a more atmospheric game this generation. Loved the characters and the story too. Oh and we need Patton back as the amazing voice of The Darkness!

    It needs Starbreeze though!

  • Quint2020 #14 2 years ago

    I bloody loved The Darkness, it's still one of my favourite games of this gen, I can't wait for a sequel!

    I will say though that if Starbreeze aren't working on it I'm a little worried, they did such a fantastic job with the original.

  • Chazmeister #15 2 years ago

    The Darkness was a great game, it just took a little while before it really began to grow on you, essentially once your powers were up to a reasonable degree then it got good, as the standard shooting with guns side of it was quite mediocre. But yes the atmosphere of the dingy grimy locations was superb, and yeah the TV sets that were dotted around were a really nice touch.

  • Mr.DNA #16 2 years ago

    The Darkness was a riot. There's something strangely twisted and ethereal about a bunch of Scandinavians writing lines of dialogue for stereotypical Italian-American hoodlums.

  • beatwolf #17 2 years ago

    this was a fucking great game.. totally overlooked. Really don't get why it ended up in the bargain bins so quickly. It was very original and full of athmosphere. A sequel will be a day one buy for me. Although i am a bit concerned that the excellent developers at Starbreeze won't have anything to do with it.

  • nomadman #18 2 years ago

    The Darkness for me was a revelation - this game made me fall in love with Starbreeze studio! If they are not involved - not interested. I just cannot understand why they do not want to be involved in this project?

  • Skurmedel #19 2 years ago

    They have a lot on their plate, guess that's why.

  • coderkind #20 2 years ago

    Just ordered The Darkness. One of those games that skipped me by but intend to play through it now.

  • JensonJet #21 2 years ago

    Totally agree with the general concensus around here... The Darkness was an amazing game. It had some of the best voice acting in a videogame, surpassing practically everything that's come out since. The atmosphere, as others have mentioned, was superb, and the game engine was pretty stunning too. On top of that I thought the concept and idea was pretty original too. By far one of the best videogames, let alone shooters, I've ever seen. The biggest letdown was that it wasn't able to change the gaming industry. It should have. The state of most shooters is embarrassing compared to this.

  • EgbertoTheGreat #22 2 years ago

    If anybody can clear up those rights issues it's Atom Freeman.
    Disappointed that Starbreeze aren't involved but cautiously optimistic that it could turn out well regardless.