Bethesda: Prey 2 lives, won't be out in 2012

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“The game does not currently meet our quality standards,” says publisher

Bethesda has announced Prey 2 is in stable condition, despite last month's reports that the alien hunting sequel was close to cancellation. Today, the publisher issued an update on Human Head Studios progress, denying rumors of its death and offering some insight on the game's troubles:

“Development of Prey 2 has not been canceled but the game will not be released in 2012 as planned. 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.”

The studio emphasized it had made a “substantial investment” to the development of the Prey sequel, and as such was dead set on seeing that money go to good use, adding, “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.”

Rumors of Prey 2's demise began when Human Head Studios pulled the title from its GDC 2012 showcase and Bethesda gave no comment on its future in the weeks following the event. Today's statement is good news for those intrigued by Prey 2's Blade Runner-esque concept, but it also indicates some tension behind the scenes. We predicted Prey 2 would miss its 2012 window in 10 games we (probably) won't see until 2013, but now it looks like there's a tiny chance we could be adding it to next year's predictions.

Matt Bradford

Matt Bradford wrote news and features here at GamesRadar+ until 2016. Since then he's gone on to work with the Guinness World Records, acting as writer and researcher for the annual Gamer's Edition series of books, and has worked as an editor, technical writer, and voice actor. Matt is now a freelance journalist and editor, generating copy across a multitude of industries.