Annapurna Interactive announced Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth in its showcase (June 29) with an atmospheric teaser trailer, filling in for a dark era of the franchise’s fictional history.
Following the trailer, game director Chelsea Hash spoke with IGN to shed a little more light on the game.
Set in 2033, Labyrinth is a narrative-heavy exploration of what it means to be a Blade Runner post-Blackout. The Blackout was an event triggered by two replicant androids, which shut down every electronic device in the city of Los Angeles and deleted all data held in storage.
Tyrell Corporation had no choice but to shutter and so all remaining replicants were the last to ever be made. However, the voice in the trailer says that they’re about to be brought back to their life of hunting down rogue robots in this upcoming chapter of the sci-fi franchise.
“When I found out about the opportunity to lead a Blade Runner game, it fully knocked me off my proverbial flight plan,” said Hash of Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth. “I had my hands full working on two projects, and was putting together designs for a new pitch — but I couldn’t pass up this chance. I’ve been watching the original film yearly since I was probably too young, and I remember sneaking away to watch 2049 in the midst of shipping a big project.”
Hash has worked on What Remains of Edith Finch, Outer Wilds and Neon White to name a few of their contributions to Annapurna Interactive’s large library. The rest of the team is composed of developers who have lent their skills to titles like Hyper Light Drifter, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit and We Are OFK, while a scattering of them have collaborated with artists like Childish Gambino, Pharrell Williams, Sufjan Stevens and Sofi Tukker on live shows and installations. As a result, expect to see a very specific visual style in Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth.
“BR2033 is very much a narrative game, so I can lean on my learnings from Edith Finch often. On the other side, projects like Solar Ash and our work in the interactive music space gave us incredible love of wielding advanced graphics as gameplay tools. Our desire to bend a wide array of disciplines as expressive tools will definitely be present in the final game,” Hash revealed.
At the moment, it’s not known when the game will release for PC and consoles, but it’s a significant moment for the publisher as this is the first Blade Runner game for PC in more than 25 years and it’s the company’s first in-house game.
In other news from the Annapurna Interactive Showcase, Bounty Star showed off its “post-post-apocalyptic” mechs and bluesy soundtrack.