A Blade Runner game was reportedly in development for the next-generation Xbox and what will presumably be called the PlayStation 6, but the unannounced game has been canceled. Blade Runner: Time to Live was targeting a late 2027 release window, and was being created by Until Dawn and The Quarry developer Supermassive Games.

According to Insider Gaming, Blade Runner: Time to Live was a third-person action-adventure game expected to release in September 2027 for the 10th generation of consoles, alongside versions for the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. It was reportedly in development by the team primarily responsible for The Quarry, which released in 2022, but seems to have been quite the departure, described as a combination of stealth, combat, exploration, and investigation interspersed with "authentic, punchy, and poignant" character writing.

Blade Runner: Time To Live Was A “Rather Impressive” New Game From Until Dawn Developer

Would Have Taken Place In 2065

Blade Runner: Time to Live was set to feature a Nexus-6 replicant as the playable character, seemingly sent to the city of New Zurich in 2065 to retire other replicants. The main character would have been named So-Lange, given orders to find and take out Rev, who is "the mysterious and ruthless leader of an underground replicant network," according to documents obtained by Insider Gaming. As a Nexus-6, So-Lange would have been "inexplicably still alive well beyond [their] limited lifespan" in 2065.

Nexus-6 is the same model of replicant as Roy Batty and his compatriots in the original Blade Runner film, which takes place in an alternate 2019. Nexus-6 replicants have a four-year lifespan.

Someone familiar with the game's development told Insider Gaming that Time to Live was "rather impressive." It sounds like investigations would have been a key component of the story, with in-universe tech at your disposal, as well as tapping into memories to connect plot points. The action-adventure elements would have taken players beyond the confines of New Zurich into "the eerie remnants of the forgotten world beyond," i.e. into the wasteland left by nuclear holocaust and various climate disasters that ravaged Blade Runner's version of Earth.

Games May Already Be In Development For Next-Gen Consoles

Get Ready For The 10th Generation

While the concept of an action-adventure Blade Runner game set in 2065 is interesting enough, it's hard to overlook the fact that Supermassive Games was already working on a title for the next-gen PlayStation and Xbox. Microsoft documents compiled for the FTC case surrounding its acquisition of Activision Blizzard already suggested that Microsoft internally expects the 10th console generation to arrive around 2028. While this is by no means set in stone, it does line up fairly well with Blade Runner: Time to Live's expected release in September 2027, which would have conceivably given the now-canceled game time to receive a next-gen version.

What the 10th generation looks like remains to be seen, of course, and may feature the Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth.

Source: Insider Gaming