It looks as if developer Creative Assembly may be ramping up production on a possible sequel to 2014’s beloved Alien: Isolation, that is if this month’s Official PlayStation Magazine’s rumor mill section is anything to go by.
Having wrapped up work on Halo Wars 2, the West Sussex-based developer is currently expanding with the acquisition of Crytek Black Sea (now named Creative Assembly Sofia) in light of its work on the Total War Series. In next month’s OPM (issue 135), it’s also mentioned that development may soon begin on another title within the Alien universe.
Here’s the quote in full:
”Our sources tell us that after work is finished on Halo Wars 2, a new Alien game may start development over at Alien Isolation dev Creative Assembly.”
Released back at the tail end of 2014, Alien: Isolation was met with critical praise and did commendably well in sales (over 2.1 million units across the U.S. and Europe as of March 2015) – though publisher Sega wasn’t completely satisfied with its commercial performance. That said, the idea of a sequel has been bandied about the past year-and-a-half with CA studio director Tim Heaton stating that a sequel was ”not out of the question” and that ”there was more to be said.”
Sega has also expressed an interest but said that it’s entirely dependent on its profitability. Perhaps a fully-fledged sequel in PlayStation VR would satiate Sega’s potential bottom line given the fact that Sony is presumably looking for its next flagship VR title once Farpoint ships next month — it certainly worked for Resident Evil 7. After all, the original game was practically tailor-made what with its iconic locale, foreboding atmosphere, and tense gameplay.
Moveover, in an interview with AVP Galaxy some time ago, Isolation’s lead game designer Gary Napprethe said in relation to a potential sequel that “The plot for a sequel is a daily topic in the studio sometimes. People have their own ideas for where it should go, our writers have some solid concepts and yes, we do have a great opportunity to continue her story.”
Related: Alien: Isolation review
It seems like a match made in heaven if you ask us; leverage the known quantity of the Alien brand in light of the fact that Alien: Covenant releases next month, and enter a market such as VR that doesn’t have a glut of AAA releases.
As ever stay tuned for any news regarding an Alien Isolation 2 once we know more.