Ex-Human Head developer attacks "lie" that Prey 2 was only ever "just a demo"
"Prey 2 was a full game. And a crazy fun one."
A former developer at Human Head Studios has attacked what he described as the "lie" that the troubled Prey 2 was only ever "just a demo".
Last week Kotaku claimed Bethesda's publishing arm assigned the Prey 2 project to the Austin, Texas arm of Dishonored developer Arkane after dumping the work done by Human Head. In short, Arkane Austin is starting from scratch with a new target release window of 2016, according to the report.
Predictably, Bethesda declined to comment on the rumour. In fact its only comment on development of the game after it fell off the radar was in April 2012, when the following statement was issued:
"Development of Prey 2 has not been cancelled but the game will not be released in 2012 as planned. "The delay is due to the fact that game development has not progressed satisfactorily this past year, and the game does not currently meet our quality standards. Prey 2 has shown great promise and we regret disappointing our fans.
"We have made a substantial investment in game development to deliver the experience fans want. We are determined only to release the AAA game that fans rightfully expect, and are unwilling to compromise our quality standards to meet a release schedule."
The latest report sparked Jason Blair, former narrative designer and writer for Prey 2 at Human Head and now at Saints Row 4 studio Volition, into action on Twitter.
"This Prey 2/ Arkane rumour is giving new life to a lot of old lies," he said. "I'm been [sic] quiet about this whole business but can't stay so anymore.
"I was narrative designer / writer on Prey 2 for the last six months of its development at Human Head," he said. "It was a lot more than a demo.
"Prey 2 was a full game. And a crazy fun one. The team was small but you wouldn't have known it.
"What happened to Prey 2, from where I sat, was political. And petty. And potentially litigable [sic]. Human Head had a great game.
"I was heartbroken when Prey 2 went into limbo. Human Head deserved to have that game released. Frankly, they needed it."
Then: "But I mourn that Prey 2 won't belong to Human Head. I mourn that my friends won't get recognition for what they accomplished.
"Instead, they get the same old 'Prey 2 was never a game' and 'It was just a demo' thrown around. Shameful. And completely untrue."
The last time Prey 2 was visible was in 2011 when it looked enormously encouraging. Will it be the same game when it surfaces again? Unlikely at this stage.
Arkane has a studio in Austin, Texas, and a studio in Lyon, France. It is thought that the Lyon studio, alongside Harvey Smith, is making a new game in the Dishonored series.