I like Arkane’s 2017 immersive sim Prey (opens in new tab) loads—much more than I favored Human Head’s 2006 FPS of the identical identify. (Which, for the file, I favored rather a lot too.) However I used to be at all times baffled by the choice to reuse the title. Developer Arkane was express that its recreation was not a sequel or a remake, and had “no tie with the unique (opens in new tab),” and it is not as if the 2006 recreation was such a smash hit that it carried immutable PR worth.
It was a reasonably widespread level of confusion, actually, and never simply amongst avid gamers but in addition at Arkane. Actually, studio founder Raphael Colantonio, who left Arkane (opens in new tab) in 2017, mentioned in a current Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences interview that Bethesda’s insistence on utilizing the identify “was very, very hurtful,” and finally helped persuade him that it was time to go.
“I didn’t need to name this recreation Prey,” Colantonio mentioned. “I needed to say I needed to anyway in entrance of journalists, which isn’t my pleasure. I hate to lie. And people are gross sales lies, it is not like a private lie or no matter, but it surely nonetheless felt unhealthy that I needed to assist a message I didn’t need. Not solely me, however no one within the group needed to name this recreation Prey. Our recreation had nothing to do with Prey.
“I am grateful that an organization will give me the means to make a recreation and belief my potential with so many tens of millions of {dollars}, I am grateful of that—however there’s a little bit of the creative, inventive aspect that’s insulted if you inform this artist, ‘Your recreation goes to be referred to as Prey.’ You go like, I do not suppose it ought to, I believe it is a mistake. It is a gross sales mistake, as a result of we’ll get the backfires from the [original Prey fans], these ones aren’t going to be glad, then those who did not like Prey, they are not even going to search for our recreation, they are not going to seek out our recreation.”
“In order that was a part of, ah, I gotta go at this level, as a result of I am not answerable for my very own boat at this level.”
Colantonio additionally referred to as the choice “a kick within the face” of the builders of the unique recreation, and mentioned he is typically needed to apologize to the group for doing it. “It by no means was our intention to steal their IP and make it ours,” he mentioned. “I used to be like, it is gross, that is not what I needed to do. And so all people misplaced. And the gross sales have been horrible, by the best way, of Prey. It was not resolution.”
It was additionally a kick within the face to followers of the unique who have been trying ahead to a correct sequel. Bethesda really introduced one in 2011 with a really cool cinematic trailer, however pulled the plug a number of years later, saying that “it wasn’t as much as our high quality normal.” Curiosity within the cancelled sequel has persevered within the years since then, although, reflecting some actual enthusiasm for what might need been.
Arkane’s Prey famously didn’t promote properly, regardless of being an impressive immersive sim, and the confusion surrounding the title and connection to the unique recreation (or lack thereof) little doubt didn’t assist. However in a 2021 interview with MinnMax, Colantonio mirrored on different advertising challenges dealing with the sport, and immersive sims typically, which regardless of being broadly thought to be cornerstone video games stay a comparatively area of interest curiosity.
“I believe we did an awesome job at promoting this recreation to individuals who would naturally like this recreation,” he mentioned. “It’s extremely ‘inside baseball’ type of factor, nearly. In case you take a look at it and you recognize what immersive sims are you completely see it, and you recognize that you’ll like it. However I do not suppose as an organization—and I am speaking like between Bethesda and Arkane—I do not suppose we did job at actually promoting it to a much bigger variety of individuals.”
“In case you’ve by no means had superb oysters, for instance, it is actually exhausting to promote that to anybody. I might promote superb oysters to somebody who’s already had them as a result of you recognize what’s particular about them, however in any other case individuals are gonna go, ‘properly that is identical to a clam to me’.”
However in that interview too, he was essential of the selection of title. “The selection of identify was most likely a mistake, clearly,” he mentioned. “As a result of I believe it turned down the followers of the unique. It additionally turned down those that didn’t like the unique. As a result of why would they play Prey 2 in the event that they did not like the unique? In order that was type of a bizarre factor.”
Apparently, whereas Arkane has moved away from immersive sims since Colantonio’s departure, releasing extra accessible (however much less attention-grabbing) video games like Wolfenstein: Youngblood (opens in new tab), Deathloop (opens in new tab), and Redfall (opens in new tab) (which will not really be out till 2023, so judgments on that one are reserved for now), Colantonio has embraced the shape (opens in new tab) from a really totally different perspective with Bizarre West (opens in new tab), with largely profitable outcomes. Bizarre West’s 1.04 patch is predicted to go reside in September (opens in new tab).
Thanks, Eurogamer (opens in new tab).
