Bethesda Puts Prey 2 on Ice

Last month we reported rumors that Prey 2, developed by Human Head Studios and set to be published by Bethesda may have been cancelled, due to a Human Head-hosted GDC talk that was abruptly cancelled before the event. Today, Bethesda sent out a terse press release about the game’s current condition:

“Development of Prey 2 has not been cancelled but the game will not be released in 2012 as planned. The delay is due to the fact that game development has not progressed satisfactorily this past year, and the game does not currently meet our quality standards. Prey 2 has shown great promise and we regret disappointing our fans. We have made a substantial investment in game development to deliver the experience fans want. We are determined only to release the AAA game that fans rightfully expect, and are unwilling to compromise our quality standards to meet a release schedule.”

Oof. Ouch. This doesn’t bode very well for the game overall, I’d say. In fact, I’d wager that Bethesda may even take development duties away from Human Head, considering that they hold the rights to the IP—not the developer, despite the fact that the first Prey was developed by Human Head as well. And after we heard about the lousy deal Obsidian had with Bethesda regarding royalties and bonuses for Fallout: New Vegas, I’d imagine that the publisher wouldn’t hesitate to pull the plug on Human Head’s funding for this—then take them to court for not living up to their end of the bargain, maybe.

Just a guess. Just many guesses, in fact—all of this is speculation at this point. What do you think? Is Prey 2 doomed? Will Human Head keep working on the title? The press release basically throws the developer under the bus, without just coming out and saying it directly. Where will this all end up?