Leaked Prey 2 Footage Reveals Unseen Gameplay

Few concepts possess as broad an allure as that of the space bounty hunter—a character archetype that skillfully combines the most captivating elements of a wandering ronin and a western gunslinger with the added thrill of a futuristic spaceship and a jetpack. Yet, despite the near-universal desire to emulate figures like Boba Fett, video games have offered limited opportunities to indulge in this fantasy. The closest we came was a fleeting chance to embody his father in a previous era of gaming. At the dawn of the 2010s, however, our dreams of becoming a sci-fi sellsword almost materialized with Prey 2, a proposed sequel to the 2006 first-person shooter. This game promised to immerse players in the life of a bounty hunter navigating a sprawling alien metropolis. Unfortunately, this vision was curtailed in 2014 when Prey 2 was canceled amidst a maelstrom of development challenges, studio acquisitions, and intellectual property shuffles. Though the dream seemed extinguished, recently leaked gameplay footage from Prey 2‘s development has surfaced on Reddit, inviting us to wistfully imagine the bounty-laden adventures we never had. While not the first instance of supposedly leaked footage post-cancellation, this is undoubtedly the most comprehensive. Over 20 minutes of development footage have emerged through a YouTube channel named “David Hallsted.” If this individual is indeed the former lead level designer at Arkane and original Prey developer Human Head Studios, as indicated by a LinkedIn post following Microsoft’s broad layoffs, the footage’s authenticity holds weight. The standout among the videos is a nine and a half-minute demo playthrough. In it, the player navigates the dimly lit underbelly of a city reminiscent of Coruscant, in pursuit of bounty targets. The player brandishes a firearm towards quivering civilians and, in a notably ruthless moment, casually knocks an unsuspecting alien off a balcony into the neon-lit abyss below. In true bounty hunter fashion, the protagonist’s actions are morally ambiguous. Players can scan passersby, matching them with posted bounties that may or may not permit collateral damage. An impressive arsenal awaits, including micronova grenades, laser-guided rockets, and electrified bolas for capturing bounties preferred alive by employers. As in-development footage, the visuals are understandably unpolished, reminiscent of the late 2000s fascination with cover systems. While it may not appear promising at first glance, moments like dispatching an alien bodyguard to simplify negotiations hint at the profound potential this game harbored. The current scarcity of sci-fi bounty hunter games in the industry feels like a glaring oversight, one that ideally will be rectified in the future.