Cliff Bleszinski is a big fan of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and he thinks its open-world exploration could be a great fit for a potential Unreal reboot. Bleszinski, Epic Games’ design director, responded to several questions on a Reddit ask-me-anything thread, laying out what he’d like to see in the future of the first first-person shooter franchise he co-created.
“I couldn't help but wonder what a reboot of Unreal would be like if it was more ‘SciFi-Rim,’” Bleszinski said. “Sure, there would be shooting involved, but exploration would almost be more important. Get back to that sense of wonder that the first game had ... Put it on a high end PC and prepare yourself for amazing visuals never before seen in real time.”
Bleszinski also commented on the difficulty of reviving old franchises, balancing hardcore fans who just want an updated version as close to the original as possible, and others who would complain about lack of changes. But for the moment, Epic remains “slaves to our success” of Gears of War and Infinity Blade.
“We're understaffed right now for all of the projects we've got going on so I can't say if or when it may happen. I do love that IP and do hope to return to Na Pali some day.”
