Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson, executive producers for Blade Runner 2099 and co-CEOs of Alcon Entertainment, the owner of the Blade Runner franchise, have confirmed that they are in discussions to create a AAA video game based on the iconic cyberpunk IP.
I got the chance to chat with Kosove and Johnson ahead of Blade Runner 2099’s release on Prime Video later this month. During our conversation, I brought up the wildly successful Cyberpunk 2077, wondering why Blade Runner hasn’t had a similar AAA game made after it, and if any conversations have been had about finally giving this IP a major modern video game release.
“Yes,” Kosove confirmed, and emphasized the phrase “AAA,” making it clear that Alcon has a grand vision for Blade Runner’s future in the gaming space. Of course, he couldn’t tell me much more, but impressed upon the importance of allowing players to “interact” with the world of Blade Runner in this hypothetical game.
This is big news for Blade Runner fans and fans of the cyberpunk genre, in general; while Blade Runner has enjoyed its status as a cult-classic and cornerstone of modern science fiction, it hasn’t exactly been blessed in the game department.
Based on IGN’s own list of Blade Runner games, the franchise has four licensed titles; the first, published in 1985 by CRL Group PLC for the Commodore 64, is an absolute dinosaur of a game that wasn’t well-received even at the time of its release. In the game, players hunt down replicants (here, ‘replidroids’) for bounty money. Due to the cost of movie rights at the time, this game was said to merely be “inspired” by the ‘Vangelis soundtrack’ of Ridley Scott’s 1982 film and not a direct adaptation.
The next Blade Runner game, which was released in 1997, enjoyed far more critical acclaim and is still considered a classic to this day. Developed by Westwood Studios and published by Virgin Interactive, this point-and-click adventure title was one of the very first titles to use 3D character models and real-time environments. A remake was released in 2022.
Another game, titled Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth, was announced in 2023 and developed by Annapurna Interactive; unfortunately, the project is now largely considered to be canceled, having been delisted from Steam and removed from Annapurna’s website. (Blade Runner 2049: Replicant Pursuit was released in 2017. It was a short, tie-in VR experience meant to promote the second film, but not a full, official game.)
Given that it’s been nearly 30 years since Blade Runner fans have had a fresh, critically-acclaimed video game adaptation, this latest news is extremely exciting and opens up an entire world of possibilities. And considering Kosove’s focus on player interactivity and AAA quality, it sounds like Alcon has a clear vision for what it wants this game to be — and I can’t wait to see what they come up with.
Blade Runner 2099 releases on Prime Video on November 25.
