Skip to main content

Prey 2 officially announced (finally)

When the original Prey debuted way back in 2006, the game was quickly dubbed a hit and it was among the best games available for the Xbox 360. Of course, the pickings were fairly slim at the time for the 8 month old console, but it was still a fine game that gained a decent following. So it wasn’t much of a surprise that development on a sequel had already begun. That was nearly five years ago.

Developed by Human Head Studios, Prey was both a critical and commercial success for both the developer and publisher, 2K Games. The game was originally announced in 1995, and after years of development hell, the title finally seemed to have the full support of all those involved. But following the release of Prey, the complicated minefield of legalities surrounding the game began to make things weird.

Recommended Videos

Although Human Head Studios is the official developer, 3D Realms is the producer. The Xbox 360 version though, was handled by Venom Games, while the Mac version was from Aspyr Media. To further complicate matters, the company Radar Group—which currently owns the rights to the Prey franchsie–was founded during this time, and is attached to produce the sequel. Radar Group is a company that does not develop or publish, but instead co-creates new IPs, which it claims will help with cross-media, including film.

Radar Group may end up being a beneficial force in video games, but as it was finding its footing Prey 2 was left on the backburner, at least until now. The original publisher, 2K Games, is no longer attached, and the publishing duties are now in the hands of Bethesda Softworks, who today announced that the sequel will be released in 2012.

If you missed the original, it is a game worth checking out (plus you can probably find a copy in the bargain bins thanks to the age of it). The story of Prey is seen through the eyes of Domasi “Tommy” Tawodi, a former Army soldier and member of the Cherokee. As the game begins, Tommy is trying to convince his girlfriend Jen to leave their reservation in Oklahoma, when the bar they are in is lifted up and taken into space aboard the “Sphere”.

The Sphere is a space bound construct circling and artificial sun, that travels from planet to planet and harvests resources—including people—which it then cybernetically augments and puts into service. After witnessing the brutal death of his grandfather, Tommy is himself wounded. In a near-death experience, he is granted ancestral powers including the ability to spirit-walk. He then begins to search the Sphere and fight the inhabitants in order to save Jen.

Prey was originally designed for the PC and the Xbox 360, with Mac and Linux ports debuting later. A PS3 version was not developed simply because the PS3 had not yet been released when the original title debuted. The sequel however will be available for the PS3, as well as the PC and Xbox 360.


Topics
Ryan Fleming
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…
Everything announced at the Triple-i Initiative Showcase: Slay the Spire 2 and more
Key art for one of the characters in Slay the Spire 2.

Several indie game studios came together to hold a showcase of their own on April 10. to. Over the course of this 45-minute event, developers and publishers such as Darkest Dungeon 2’s Red Hook Studios, 33 Immortals’ Thunder Lotus, Dead Cells’ Evil Empire, and Hyper Light Breaker’s Heart Machine made announcements about their upcoming games. The biggest announcement was for Slay the Spire 2, a sequel to one of the best roguelikes of all time, and The Rogue Prince of Persia, a new roguelite game based on Ubisoft's franchise.

For fans of indie games, the Triple-i Initiative is a must-watch presentation. If you weren't able to tune in live or just want a rundown of what was announced by all these indie developments, we've rounded up every announcement made during The Triple-i Initiative's inaugural showcase.

Read more
Embracer Group finally sells Gearbox Software, but keeps Gearbox Publishing
Mordecai in Borderlands 1.

Embracer Group finally confirmed that it is selling Borderlands studio Gearbox Entertainment to Take-Two Interactive, but there's a catch: Embracer Group will retain ownership of Gearbox Publishing.

Embracer Group acquired Gearbox Entertainment in 2021 but is now offloading much of it as part of a restructuring plan meant to recoup money after a deal fell through in 2023. Take-Two Interactive's 2K already published all the Borderlands games, so it's a sensible $460 million purchase that also nets them franchises like Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, Homeworld, Risk of Rain, Brothers in Arms, and Duke Nukem. In terms of studios, Take-Two Interactive is only acquiring Gearbox Software, Gearbox Montreal, and Gearbox Studio Quebec, the company's primary development arms. Randy Pitchford will remain CEO as well.

Read more
WWE 2K24 makes one small change that goes a very long way
Cody Rhodes stands on a ramp in WWE 2K24.

(Editor's Note: The night before our WWE 2K24 preview event, WWE co-founder Vince McMahon resigned from his executive chairman role at TKO amid sex trafficking allegations. Ahead of the event, Digital Trends reached out to 2K Games to ask if references to Vince McMahon and any other parties implicated in the lawsuit would be removed from the game. We were directed to WWE's PR team, which has yet to respond.

The WWE 2K series has been living out a comeback story for the past two years. After hitting rock bottom in 2019, 2K Games took the time and effort to rehabilitate the series instead of rushing into another entry with injuries. That paid off in its 2022 and 2023 installments, reestablishing the series as the king of the ring – especially after fighting off competition from the middling AEW: Fight Forever.

Read more