Bethesda: Prey 2 Not Cancelled

Today Bethesda provided an update on the sci-fi shooter Prey 2. Contrary to the rumors, they won't be cancelling the game. However, it will be arriving later than expected.

"Development of Prey 2 has not been cancelled but the game will not be released in 2012 as planned," said the publisher on their blog. "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."

Prey was released back in 2006 after a decade of development. In spite of the delays, it received mostly positive reviews on launch. It mixed traditional shooter gameplay with interesting new elements such as portals, gravity fields, and out-of-body experiences. The developer that made the first game, Human Head Studios, is also handling the sequel.

I'm actually glad to hear Bethesda is being patient with this project. While their internally-developed games (such as Skyrim or Fallout 3) are consistently great, the games that they publish from other studios tend to fall short. Recent examples of this include Rogue Warrior, WET and Brink. Hopefully Prey 2 can break the trend.

If they're reworking Prey 2 extensively, it could be awhile before we see some gameplay footage. All we've seen so far has been a cinematic trailer and a few screenshots (below).

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