Supermassive Games, renowned for their gripping horror titles such as Until Dawn, The Quarry, and The Dark Pictures anthology, has reportedly halted development on an unannounced project titled Blade Runner: Time To Live. According to a report from Insider Gaming, this game was set to be a character-driven, cinematic action-adventure set in 2065, centered around the last Blade Runner.

The narrative of Blade Runner: Time To Live was poised to follow a vintage Nexus-6 replicant named So-Lange. Tasked with eliminating the leader of an underground replicant network, So-Lange faced betrayal and abandonment in a challenging environment. The gameplay was said to be diverse, incorporating elements of stealth, combat, exploration, investigation, and deep character interactions.

Insider Gaming disclosed that the game had a hefty development budget of approximately $45 million, with $9 million allocated specifically for external performance capture and acting talent. It was planned to offer a 10-12 hour single-player experience, with pre-production starting in September 2024, and a targeted release in September 2027 across PC and both current and next-generation consoles.

The cancellation of Blade Runner: Time To Live reportedly stemmed from complications with Alcon Entertainment, the rights holder for the Blade Runner franchise, leading to the project's termination late last year.

In related news, Annapurna Interactive, a prominent publisher, announced in the summer of 2023 their venture into in-house game development with Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth, marking the first Blade Runner game in 25 years. However, updates on this project have been scarce since the initial announcement.

Simultaneously, Supermassive Games has been managing multiple projects, including the upcoming installment in The Dark Pictures series titled Directive 8020, and Little Nightmares 3. Amidst these developments, the studio underwent layoffs last year, with around 90 employees affected, as reported by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, entering what was described as a "period of consultation."

On a different note, Supermassive's acclaimed title Until Dawn is making its way to the big screen. The movie adaptation, directed by David F. Sandberg, is set to premiere this weekend. For more on this, you can read our review of the cinematic take on Until Dawn.