Following the closure of video game developer Boss Key Productions in 2018, founder and studio head Cliff Bleszinski decided enough was enough.
The poor commercial performance of both LawBreakers and Radical Heights had all but convinced the former Epic Games employee and Gears of War creator to apply his talents elsewhere, most notably in theatre production. While Bleszinski may have closed that chapter on his professional life, he recently took the time to discuss one potentially hugely successful project that sadly never came to be.
Recalling the events leading up to its eventual failure to materialize, Bleszinski reveals that Boss Key had at one point in time been in talks with Fox to create an Aliens video game. In light of Creative Assembly’s success with Alien: Isolation, the movie heavyweight was eager to keep the streak going with further adventures, to which Bleszinski responded in kind with his own pitch. Unfortunately, the timing couldn’t have been worse. Before any deal could be finalized, Disney had swooped in to purchase Fox, with the fledging Aliens game getting lost in the reshuffle.
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Intended to be a first-person shooter, the unnamed title would have seen players take control an adult Newt from the second film, with Ripley – revealed to be alive – acting as a guiding force in much the same vein as Halo‘s Cortana. Events would take place on Earth during a time where the Weyland-Yutani Corporation was beginning to weaponize the Xenomorphs in a “Black Mesa style facility,” says Bleszinski, adding that, “of course, all hell breaks loose.” A robotic companion meant to fill the role of Lance Henrisksen’s beloved Bishop – Casey – was intended to appear, too, named after the doll Newt holds close during the events of Aliens.
Sounds amazing, right? Unfortunately, we now have to live with the knowledge that such a promising title will likely never come to fruition. Thanks for that, Disney.
