Bethesda signs Human Head's Prey 2

By Robert Purchese Published 14 March, 2011

What will Human Head altar?

Bethesda has signed Prey 2, a sequel developed by Human Head.

The game's due out on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 next year. The developer is using id Software's id tech engine to build the game.

Prey 2 isn't exactly a surprise: Radar Groups' Scott Miller was banging on about it in 2008, claiming the sequel would up the portal ante and show Valve's Portal series a thing or two.

Then, in late 2009, Bethesda parent ZeniMax filed a trademark to protect Prey 2.

"We are thrilled to be working with Bethesda on Prey 2," said project lead Chris Rhinehart. "Prey 2 will provide gamers the opportunity to explore a new facet of the Prey universe, one that offers fast-paced action in an open, alien world. We're excited to show gamers the title we have been working on and hope they will be as excited by this title as we are."

Prey 1 followed Native American hero Tommy, who called on ancestral powers to quash an alien menace. Eurogamer review Kristan Reed awarded Prey 7/10.

He wrote: "Perhaps inevitably - although maybe not intentionally - Prey struggles to break free of its late '90s genesis, and essentially what we're left with is a game whose good intentions simply don't translate into wide-eyed entertainment. With uninspiring and basic deathmatch multiplayer options failing to rescue the package, it looks like it's going to be another long hot summer for FPS devotees."

Footage of Prey from 2006.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (14) Latest comment 1 year ago

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

  • M4RV #1 1 year ago

    Underrated little gem the first one was... Gimme more of that please. :)

  • Hunam #2 1 year ago

    Yeah, I quite enjoyed Prey, it was a good action romp with some neat level design. Looking forward to this as a nice change from military FPS.

  • FeralGamer #3 1 year ago

    Prey was very underrated. I loved the Art Bell cameo in the opening sequence. I used to listen to that guy on the radio every night talking about UFOs, Big Foot, alien abductions, time travel....

  • Eraysor #4 1 year ago

    I found the native American idea a bit tacky, but the rest of the game was great. I bet they're glad they got it out before Portal though because that completely superceded Prey's main gimmick. Still, exploring the huge spaceship was really awesome.

  • darleysam #5 1 year ago

    "Dead Grandfather! How are you talking to me despite being dead?!"
    "Tommy, I can give you the knowledge and power you need to save Jen"
    "Leave me alone Grandfather, you know I don't believe in this spiritual mumbo jumbo!"
    "But, I'm talking to you right now and showing you these powers.."
    "Grandfather! Stop trying to convert me to your outdated ways!"
    "But.. right here! I'm talking to you from beyond the grave"
    "GRANDFATHER! STOP THIS NONSENSE!"

    Tommy is a moron, basically.

  • NewbieZilla #6 1 year ago

    Hopefully they leave the competitive multiplayer thing far away this time. I don't like seeing multiplayer in games that aren't going to have people play it online 3 months down the road. The campaign itself was pretty good. Great for its time. This was the 2nd game for the 360 I got back in the day.

  • sonicyoda #7 1 year ago

    I bloody loved Prey and have been looking forward to the sequel for what feels like ages now. Little bit cheesed this is scheduled for next year.

  • milki-tea #8 1 year ago

    i dont care one little bit about this becuase...
    Bethesda, go and tell your friends at Obsidian to hurry the fuck up with releasing new content for Fallout: New Vegas...instead of using your time buying underrated games, use your time to sort out your own overrated games!!!

  • photoboy #9 1 year ago

    I thought Prey was a great game that has since been overshadowed by Portal (not that Portal wasn't the better game). I think where Prey fell down is that the portals and anti-gravity walls were excellent ideas but they fell down a bit in execution.

    The game needed more clever puzzles and unique ideas (like that portal that shrank you to a tiny size) to really shine. The level of interactivity in places was good, like the gambling machines and jukebox, which really reminded me of Duke Nukem 3D. It was pretty ballsy what they did to Tommy's girlfriend in the story too... Hopefully the sequel will fix the issues the first had. Oh and maybe drop that whole spirit realm thing when you die, it started getting quite tedious towards the end.
    Edited by photoboy at 14/03/11 @ 16:33

  • Tetsuo_Shima #10 1 year ago

    Agree with most of the sentiments above. Prey blew my mind when it was initially released, but a recent bout of nostalgia only showed to me how age hasn't so much as smiled kindly upon it as scowled menacingly. Still, some set-pieces had my mouth agape in awwwwweeeeeee

  • SomaticSense #11 1 year ago

    The first has some of the best level design of any FPS. Gameplay was iffy at times, but the level design is hugely underrated.

  • kevwinter #12 1 year ago

    I loved the gameplay in prey, some of the gravity effects were awesome. In one area it was possible to throw and enemy out in to space and watch as it was caught in a sattelite planets gravitational pull. some of the puzzles where you ended up on the celing were great too.
    Edited by kevwinter at 14/03/11 @ 18:17

  • Megapocalypse #13 1 year ago

    Loved Prey and have been waiting for a sequel. Being abducted to Don't Fear The Reaper was an awesome moment.

  • UKLL #14 1 year ago


    Loved Prey.

    Being abducted whilst don't fear the reaper plays on the jukebox is one of my stand out gaming memories from the early days of owning a 360.