Latest news with #PeopleCanFly
Scottish Sun
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Major PS5 and Xbox game sequel ‘cancelled' without warning as fans call axing ‘criminal' and blast ‘brutal cliffhanger'
Gamers fuming as major sequel scrapped — and another shock cancellation may be looming GAME OVER Major PS5 and Xbox game sequel 'cancelled' without warning as fans call axing 'criminal' and blast 'brutal cliffhanger' Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A LONG-awaited sequel to a hit PS5 and Xbox game has been axed without warning — leaving fans gutted. Outriders 2, the follow-up to the 2021 sci-fi shooter, was reportedly deep in development before publisher Square Enix pulled the plug. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Reports claim the decision came from Square Enix and was beyond the developer's control The game was being made by Polish developer People Can Fly and had the working title Project Gemini. Reports claim the decision came from Square Enix and was beyond the developer's control. It's not clear why the game was cancelled, but it's another blow to an already struggling games industry. Outriders launched in 2021 and got off to a strong start thanks to its day-one release on Xbox Game Pass. The looter-shooter picked up a loyal fanbase and Square Enix even said it could become their 'next big franchise'. Despite that, the game failed to make a profit in its first year. That may have raised doubts about the future of the series — and now it seems those fears were justified. According to sources, Outriders 2 had already reached the motion capture stage, suggesting it was well underway. Motion capture is used to bring characters and cutscenes to life, and often takes place in the later stages of production. However, some insiders say the sequel wasn't quite as far along as others claim. Either way, the cancellation came as a shock — and has sparked backlash from fans. Gamers have taken to Reddit to vent their frustration. One said: 'Still maintain that this game had the best crafting system for a looter shooter. Had some really fun builds when we played this.' Another added: 'That's a bummer. I had fun with the first one but 3-person co-op is just such a weird number.' A third said: 'I hope it gets resurrected somehow as I really, really loved the first one.' Many fans are also angry that the first game ended on a massive cliffhanger — one that may now never be resolved. Some even called the decision 'criminal' and accused the publisher of giving up on a story they were heavily invested in. This is the second known game to be cancelled at People Can Fly, who are now focused on other projects. The studio is currently working on several titles, including helping out on Gears of War: E-Day. They previously developed Gears of War: Judgement for Xbox 360, so they're no strangers to the franchise. As for Outriders, its future looks uncertain. With the sequel shelved and no official word from Square Enix, fans are bracing themselves for the worst. It's not the first time a big-name game has been scrapped — and likely won't be the last. SEGA shocked fans in 2023 when it cancelled Hyenas, a flashy team-based shooter from Total War devs Creative Assembly. The game had already been through public testing, but was axed just before release, alongside a wave of job cuts. Over at PlayStation, The Last of Us Online was quietly shelved by Naughty Dog. The multiplayer spin-off was meant to expand the world of the hit franchise, but after years in development limbo, the studio admitted in late 2023 it had decided to pull the plug and focus on single-player titles instead. Xbox gamers were left disappointed years earlier when Scalebound, a dragon-riding action adventure, was cancelled by Microsoft. Despite early gameplay footage and a growing fanbase, the 2017 cancellation blamed development struggles and high ambitions that proved too difficult to deliver.
The Irish Sun
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Major PS5 and Xbox game sequel ‘cancelled' without warning as fans call axing ‘criminal' and blast ‘brutal cliffhanger'
A LONG-awaited sequel to a hit PS5 and Xbox game has been axed without warning — leaving fans gutted. 2 Reports claim the decision came from Square Enix and was beyond the developer's control The game was being made by Polish developer People Can Fly and had the working title Project Gemini. Reports claim the decision came from Square Enix and was beyond the developer's control. It's not clear why the game was cancelled, but it's another blow to an already struggling games industry. Outriders launched in 2021 and got off to a strong start thanks to its day-one release on Xbox Game Pass. Read more on Technology The looter-shooter picked up a loyal fanbase and Square Enix even said it could become their 'next big franchise'. Despite that, the game failed to make a profit in its first year. That may have raised doubts about the future of the series — and now it seems those fears were justified. According to sources, Outriders 2 had already reached the motion capture stage, suggesting it was well underway. Most read in Tech Motion capture is used to bring characters and cutscenes to life, and often takes place in the later stages of production. However, some insiders say the sequel wasn't quite as far along as others claim. Either way, the cancellation came as a shock — and has sparked backlash from fans. Gamers have taken to Reddit to vent their frustration. One said: 'Still maintain that this game had the best crafting system for a looter shooter. Had some really fun builds when we played this.' Another added: 'That's a bummer. I had fun with the first one but 3-person co-op is just such a weird number.' A third said: 'I hope it gets resurrected somehow as I really, really loved the first one.' Many fans are also angry that the first game ended on a massive cliffhanger — one that may now never be resolved. Some even called the decision 'criminal' and accused the publisher of giving up on a story they were heavily invested in. This is the second known game to be cancelled at People Can Fly, who are now focused on other projects. The studio is currently working on several titles, including helping out on Gears of War: E-Day. They previously developed Gears of War: Judgement for Xbox 360, so they're no strangers to the franchise. As for Outriders, its future looks uncertain. With the sequel shelved and no official word from Square Enix, fans are bracing themselves for the worst. It's not the first time a big-name game has been scrapped — and likely won't be the last. SEGA shocked fans in 2023 when it cancelled Hyenas, a flashy team-based shooter from Total War devs Creative Assembly. The game had already been through public testing, but was axed just before release, alongside a wave of job cuts. Over at PlayStation, The Last of Us Online was quietly shelved by Naughty Dog. The multiplayer spin-off was meant to expand the world of the hit franchise, but after years in development limbo, the studio admitted in late 2023 it had decided to pull the plug and focus on single-player titles instead. Xbox gamers were left disappointed years earlier when Scalebound, a dragon-riding action adventure, was cancelled by Microsoft. Despite early gameplay footage and a growing fanbase, the 2017 cancellation blamed development struggles and high ambitions that proved too difficult to deliver. 2 According to sources, Outriders 2 had already reached the motion capture stage, suggesting it was well underway Credit: Sony PlayStation
The Sun
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Major PS5 and Xbox game sequel ‘cancelled' without warning as fans call axing ‘criminal' and blast ‘brutal cliffhanger'
A LONG-awaited sequel to a hit PS5 and Xbox game has been axed without warning — leaving fans gutted. Outriders 2, the follow-up to the 2021 sci-fi shooter, was reportedly deep in development before publisher Square Enix pulled the plug. The game was being made by Polish developer People Can Fly and had the working title Project Gemini. Reports claim the decision came from Square Enix and was beyond the developer's control. It's not clear why the game was cancelled, but it's another blow to an already struggling games industry. Outriders launched in 2021 and got off to a strong start thanks to its day-one release on Xbox Game Pass. The looter-shooter picked up a loyal fanbase and Square Enix even said it could become their 'next big franchise'. Despite that, the game failed to make a profit in its first year. That may have raised doubts about the future of the series — and now it seems those fears were justified. According to sources, Outriders 2 had already reached the motion capture stage, suggesting it was well underway. Motion capture is used to bring characters and cutscenes to life, and often takes place in the later stages of production. However, some insiders say the sequel wasn't quite as far along as others claim. Either way, the cancellation came as a shock — and has sparked backlash from fans. Gamers have taken to Reddit to vent their frustration. One said: 'Still maintain that this game had the best crafting system for a looter shooter. Had some really fun builds when we played this.' Another added: 'That's a bummer. I had fun with the first one but 3-person co-op is just such a weird number.' A third said: 'I hope it gets resurrected somehow as I really, really loved the first one.' Many fans are also angry that the first game ended on a massive cliffhanger — one that may now never be resolved. Some even called the decision 'criminal' and accused the publisher of giving up on a story they were heavily invested in. This is the second known game to be cancelled at People Can Fly, who are now focused on other projects. The studio is currently working on several titles, including helping out on Gears of War: E-Day. They previously developed Gears of War: Judgement for Xbox 360, so they're no strangers to the franchise. As for Outriders, its future looks uncertain. With the sequel shelved and no official word from Square Enix, fans are bracing themselves for the worst. It's not the first time a big-name game has been scrapped — and likely won't be the last. SEGA shocked fans in 2023 when it cancelled Hyenas, a flashy team-based shooter from Total War devs Creative Assembly. The game had already been through public testing, but was axed just before release, alongside a wave of job cuts. Over at PlayStation, The Last of Us Online was quietly shelved by Naughty Dog. The multiplayer spin-off was meant to expand the world of the hit franchise, but after years in development limbo, the studio admitted in late 2023 it had decided to pull the plug and focus on single-player titles instead. Xbox gamers were left disappointed years earlier when Scalebound, a dragon-riding action adventure, was cancelled by Microsoft. Despite early gameplay footage and a growing fanbase, the 2017 cancellation blamed development struggles and high ambitions that proved too difficult to deliver. 2
Forbes
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘Outriders 2' Was Real, Almost Finished, Then Incinerated
Outriders The looter shooter genre has not had all that many new entries in many years now, after a number of games tried and fail to replicate the success of titles like Borderlands, The Division, Warframe and Destiny. But one really gave its best effort, Outriders, but ultimately did not blossom into a long-running series. It almost did. According to a new report, one of the two cancelled games from the beleaguered People Can Fly, Project Gemini, was in fact Outriders 2. Not only that, but the report says that the game was nearly finished before it was unceremoniously axed in early June, which also came with a number of layoffs. It's not the biggest surprise this was one of the games, but if it was that late in development? What a tragedy. For me, Outriders is very much a 'it deserved better' game. It had an incredibly strong foundation, some of the best looter-shooter elements I've seen in terms of gearing and its combat philosophy of 'the cover is for the enemies, not you' was a blast. It's one of the only third-person shooters I've actually enjoyed. Outriders It's a bizarre story. Outriders started out extremely strong and Square Enix bragged about it immediately. Here's its press release subtitled 'New IP posed to be the company's next big franchise.' FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder What on earth happened? A very, very sharp drop-off. It was plagued by tech issues at launch, but it also had a campaign with a pretty clear ending and an endgame that wasn't fully build out yet. A major update and then a full expansion brought a minimal amount of players back, despite being great additions. But I suspect that the biggest issue for Square Enix may have been that unlike Destiny, this was not a live service. No battle passes, no microtransactions, no endless stream of content, severely limiting revenue. Still, a second game was in the works due to the initial success until…it wasn't. What once was a 'new IP posed to be the company's next big franchise' appears to now be permanently dead. Outriders had its issues, but it also did loot-shooting better than many other competitors, even some of its major ones. The game and People Can Fly deserved better. If there's some remote chance anyone else could pick up that IP, that almost-finished game and that team, it would be a great call. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
Engadget
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Engadget
People Can Fly cancels two games and lays off developers
People Can Fly, the developer of Outriders and Gears of War: Judgement , announced Monday that its ending development on two of its upcoming games due to issues with its publisher and an inability to secure funding to continue development. As part of this decision, People Can Fly will be forced "significantly regroup" and "scale down [its] teams," the studio's CEO Sebastian Wojciechowksi shared in a statement on LinkedIn. The statement doesn't elaborate on how many staff will be impacted by the cuts, but does call out Project Gemini and Project Bifrost as the two games being cancelled. People Can Fly made the decision to shut down Gemini because the game's publisher failed to provide a publishing agreement and didn't communicate "its willingness to continue or terminate the Gemini project." Without that publishing deal or the funds to continue working on Bifrost — a self-published VR game — the studio was forced to cancel it, too. This isn't the first time People Can Fly has shut down a project or made cuts to its teams. In December 2024, the studio announced that it was ending development on a game called Project Victoria and also reducing the number of people working on Bifrost. In that same announcement, People Can Fly also revealed that Square Enix was publishing Gemini. People Can Fly last worked with Square Enix to publish Outriders, somewhat of a minor cult hit now, but not a commercial success at launch. Even with the cuts and cancelled games, the studio still has multiple upcoming projects in the works, including Project Delta, which People Can Fly is creating for Sony and Gears of War: E-Day , which the studio is co-developing with Xbox studio The Coalition.
