Rumors of Prey 2's demise may have been greatly exaggerated

When I first got an Xbox 360, one of the first games I played was the first-person shooter "Prey." The game followed Tommy, a Native American living on a reservation who gets abducted by aliens and must try and save the others abducted while escaping the alien ship. The game introduced unique methods of level interaction by playing with the gravity that many found to be innovative, though I don't remember being too impressed with those mechanics.

I did like "Prey" overall, though. It was a neat idea, its execution was great and even the strange Native American mysticism tie-in powers later in the game were a lot of fun. Even though "Prey" was released all the way back in 2006, info about a possible sequel began circulating last year. The info was surprising and not just because of the length of time that passed since "Prey" was initially released.

Though this info could have all changed by now, I'll relate a bit of what I can remember reading about "Prey 2" when it was first announced. The most important change is a new protagonist, Killian Samuels, is a US Marshall who is aboard a plane that crashes into the alien ship from the first game. I think this crash is even shown, or referenced, in "Prey" but I can't remember for sure. Jumping forward a few years, Killian is now a bounty hunter living on an alien planet, which is what the bulk of the game will revolve around.

The most interesting change in the sequel is the move to an open-world environment. Where the original title was a linear experience, "Prey 2" will allegedly follow Killian on his bounty hunting career through the city of Exodus. It was also rumored that this title would have a noir feel to it and would be reminiscent of the movie "Blade Runner."

While the rumored title sounded promising, it was allegedly shelved near the end of 2012 when it was removed from Bethesda's website. Bethesda claimed that the game was still in development and not officially cancelled, but didn't elaborate much more.

Earlier today, I saw a post on Joystiq.com (that you can read here) stating a rumor that "Prey 2" is still in the works and has changed developmental studios. It seems that Bethesda has removed original "Prey" dev Human Head Studios from "Prey 2," which could be seen as a bad sign. And you might think that...right until you find out the new, alleged, developer.

Arkane Studios, developer of the critically acclaimed title "Dishonored" is rumored to now be at the helm of "Prey 2." If true, this would be fantastic news. "Dishonored" proved that Arkane has an excellent handle on creating fully-realized worlds in an FPS format and would translate perfectly to "Prey 2." Given that the title has changed hands, it could be a long time before we actually get to see "Prey 2" in action, let alone get to play it ourselves.

Ever since I heard the initial rumors about "Prey 2" I've been intrigued by the title and the news that Arkane is now in charge of its development only makes it sound better and I sincerely hope this isn't the last we hear of this game.