Bethesda Parent Acquires 'Prey' Rights

[DoctorFinger]

You remember Prey don't you? It's the FPS with the portals....which wasn't made by Valve. It was also for a long time the gold standard for Vaporware; first announced in 1995 but not released until 2006. While not exactly a major hit for publisher 2K Games and developers Human Head Games (PC version) and Venom Games (360 version) it did well enough to warrant development of a sequel. Now, thanks to Super Annuation's work digging through the US patent & trademark filings, we learn that ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda, has acquired the rights to the Prey IP.

What does this mean? It means we're getting a Prey sequel, although the 'when' is still up in the air. They just filed some new Trademark applications based on the property, so expect it to get a multiplatform, multi-title push. And before anyone makes the suggestion: id Software - also a recent acquisition of ZeniMax - won't be making the Prey sequel. They only develop their own properties.

Source - Super Annuation.

[mightbe]

Well, the Prey universe was interesting enough, it's just the gameplay was lackluster.

[Kelegacy]

It was a decent enough game I think. But I encountered a glitch after I beat the game that didn't let me get achievement points for beating it...it just froze in the final cut scene. No reloading would fix it so I traded it away.

Worth the $10 I paid for it, but I wouldn't pay much more for a sequel.

[MosBen]

Wasn't Prey originally an id IP?

[RandoM51]

Prey is actually a pretty interesting story, not the game story, but the behind the scenes development.

When first announced and for years after, Prey wasn't a game, it was an engine, an engine that would prominently feature the use of portals. This engine would go on to be the main engine for most 3drealms games... well, that was the plan. What really happened is a number of different teams tried and failed to get portal tech working as planned.

Curiously enough, when Prey finally did see release, it wasn't on 3drealms portal technology, it was on idtech4, which they licensed.

Basically, it is the poster child for why a developer should think long and hard about licensing an engine instead of attempting to build their own.

As far as the game goes, it was ok. The "cheesy FPS" market isn't what it once used to be, that is for sure.

[Heretic Machine]

Heh, I just ordered Prey from GoGamer yesterday, for a whole dollar. Now it is back up to the outrageous price of $6.90! I liked the demo well enough back when it came out, but never bothered picking it up. I thought the introduction in the bar was fucking incredible, and is one of the more memorable scenes in any FPS game I've played, though I'm sure it was also the highlight of the game from what I've heard.

I also picked up UT3 for $6.90 when it was on the madness sale this weekend. Mediocre FPS games FTW!

[paketep]

I don't think that should count as 11 years. Prey was cancelled, and long long after that a rather generic game was made so 3DRealms could get more money to keep doing... nothing.

Now, DNF... That was (is?) pure vaporware.

[H.Bogard]

Prey was great. Had plenty of awesome moments in it (like the evil ghosts scenes) that bested your typical FPSes of the time (Half Life and FEAR were not typical!).

I was wondering where the sequel was hiding all this time.

[BabyJesus]

Personally I liked the game alot. They could have done more with the portals but they had a few interesting bits and Multiplayer was fun for while. I could be seeing it better than it was though when it came out I was trapped at home with a severe back injury(crushed one of my vertebrae by 25%) at the time and was on some heavy meds and bored outta my mind. Finished that game and Quake 4, both took a while as I was zonkered most of the time.

[Telefrog]

Prey wasn't bad at all. Not great, but certainly not bad. It was definitely worth the $5 I paid for it during a Steam sale. I'll probably never play it again, so it will just sit at the bottom of my Steam queue forever.

I'm not sure that anyone can turn the IP into anything much more than a mediocre shooter. The story is just so bland and pedestrian.

[DoctorFinger]

It looks like we all played the game....after we got it for $5 or less on GoGamer or Steam.

[TheKeck]

Originally Posted by DoctorFinger

It looks like we all played the game....after we got it for $5 or less on GoGamer or Steam.

I got a free copy from Rein. DEFINITELY worth the price of admission.

(As others have said, not a bad game, I enjoyed it. The whole keep playing through death mechanic was... interesting.)

[ElektroDragon]

Prey was great.... way better than FEAR. Though after seeing Wet and how Bethesda dropped the ball on the playability of Fallout 3 (I care not to reach a level cap 1/4 way through the game, thank you), I greatly FEAR (tee hee) for any game Bethesda gets its hands on. Should have went to Ubisoft, they know how to resurrect old properties!

[MagGnome]

I hope they got a good deal on this, otherwise I really don't see the point. It's not like the Prey IP is heavily revered across the gaming community.

[Purple Santa]

Originally Posted by Heretic Machine

Heh, I just ordered Prey from GoGamer yesterday, for a whole dollar. Now it is back up to the outrageous price of $6.90! I liked the demo well enough back when it came out, but never bothered picking it up. I thought the introduction in the bar was fucking incredible, and is one of the more memorable scenes in any FPS game I've played, though I'm sure it was also the highlight of the game from what I've heard.

I also picked up UT3 for $6.90 when it was on the madness sale this weekend. Mediocre FPS games FTW!

Are you Kelegacy's evil twin? Another gamer going around buying cheesy FPS for $10 and below

Originally Posted by MagGnome

I hope they got a good deal on this, otherwise I really don't see the point. It's not like the Prey IP is heavily revered across the gaming community.

Well if they sell it for $5, they have a large fanbase waiting for the game