Bethesda Confirms Prey 2, Coming in 2012 (UPDATE)

Bethesda has just issued a press release confirming earlier reports of Prey 2’s existence, with developer Human Head once again taking the helm.  The game is set for release on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC sometime in 2012 and will be using id Software’s impressive id Tech 5 engine (the same one being used to power Rage). 

Chris Rhinehard, the game’s project lead spoke about the announcement, saying:

"We are thrilled to be working with Bethesda on Prey 2. Prey 2 will provide gamers the opportunity to explore a new facet of the Prey universe, one that offers fast-paced action in an open, alien world. We’re excited to show gamers the title we have been working on and hope they will be as excited by this title as we are."

The original Prey was a fairly novel, if ultimately underwhelming shooter that featured portals, wonky gravity, aliens and a heavy dose of Native-American mysticism.  It’ll be interesting to see how Human head changes things up now that Portal has become a huge success, seeing as how portals were one of Prey’s main gameplay gimmicks.  Head past the break for the full press release.

UPDATE

It turns out Prey 2 will not be using the id Tech 5 engine.  Bethesda’s Pete Hines clarified the issue, saying “id Tech 5 is still in progress (until Rage ships, and probably even after). So it really wasn’t an option.”  Presumably then, it will be using a heavily modified version of id Tech 4, the same engine being used in games like Brink.

BETHESDA SOFTWORKS ANNOUNCES PREY 2

Sequel to Award-Winning Prey to be Available in 2012

March 14, 2011 (Rockville, MD) – Bethesda Softworks®, a ZeniMax® Media company, today announced that Prey® 2, the sequel to the popular 2006 game, is scheduled for release in 2012 and will be available for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, and Games for Windows. Further details on the game will be revealed in the May issues of Official Xbox Magazine and PlayStation: The Official Magazine, as well as in magazines throughout Europe.

Prey 2 is being developed by Human Head Studios, the studio that created Prey, the original, award-winning game. Prey 2 is being built on the cutting edge id tech engine from id Software.

"We are thrilled to be working with Bethesda on Prey 2," said Chris Rhinehart, project lead. "Prey 2 will provide gamers the opportunity to explore a new facet of the Prey universe, one that offers fast-paced action in an open, alien world. We’re excited to show gamers the title we have been working on and hope they will be as excited by this title as we are."

Continue to check http://facebook.com/prey2 for additional information on Prey 2 in the coming days.