The recent news of a Blade Runner game being canceled before it was even announced was a massive letdown for me. As a huge fan of the films and the cyberpunk genre itself, Supermassive Games’ Blade Runner project had real potential. They’re known for mastering narrative styles and branching dialogue options, so it could have worked.
We can only speculate, but Supermassive likely had a choice-driven game in mind, similar to Until Dawn or The Dark Pictures Anthology. Maybe we would’ve taken control of a new Blade Runner, separate from K and Deckard, tracking rogue androids and spiraling into an existential crisis of our own.
But here’s the thing: there aren’t enough big cyberpunk games.
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+ 4Cyberpunk 2077 was one of the first titles to bring the genre into the mainstream of gaming. Years of hype and anticipation led to a brutally disappointing launch, but CDPR eventually did the work and turned it into something worth playing.
Other titles like Ghostrunner contributed too, though its runner-style gameplay appealed to a more niche crowd. Even Bloober Team took cyberpunk in a new direction by adding horror elements with Observer — a game starring the late, great Rutger Hauer. Rest in peace, legend.
click to enlarge+ 4More recently, indie developers have embraced the genre, molding it into unique and personal experiences. Nobody Wants to Die by Critical Hit Games is a somber character study on humanity. Bartender sims like VA-11 HALL-A and The Red Strings Club offer intimate reflections on our most basic human desires, all set against the backdrop of a tech-drenched future.
Still, it feels like cyberpunk in gaming has declined over the years. The next Cyberpunk game won’t arrive until 2030, and the Deus Ex series is gathering dust under Embracer Group. And now, with Supermassive’s Blade Runner project scrapped, the genre feels like it’s slowly slipping into obscurity.
Or is it?
click to enlarge+ 4There are still upcoming cyberpunk games that could make a real impact, especially from indie studios. Titles like The Last Night are keeping that dystopian, neon-soaked aesthetic alive.
And speaking of Blade Runner — forget Supermassive’s version. Annapurna Interactive, the minds behind Outer Wilds, Sayonara Wild Hearts, and What Remains of Edith Finch, is developing Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth.
We don’t know much about Labyrinth yet, other than that it takes place in the Blade Runner 2049 universe, specifically during the 2033 blackout era.
click to enlarge+ 4With Annapurna’s new Blade Runner project and a wave of indie cyberpunk titles on the horizon, the genre isn’t dead—not yet. But it could use more attention. After all, what better setting is there to explore the very nature of humanity?
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