No-stromo
In recent days, rumors have been abound that Creative Assembly was working on Alien: Isolation 2. It started with Official PlayStation Magazine writing (as reported by PlayStation Universe) “Our sources tell us that after work is finished on Halo Wars 2, a new Alien game may start development over at…Creative Assembly.” We refrained from reporting this. Something didn’t feel right.
Now, Eurogamer has come out to dash these rumors, and its logic seems far more likely to be accurate. Eurogamer has its own sources that say an Alien: Isolation sequel isn’t currently in the works. The Halo Wars team has begun prototyping its next game but it isn’t Alien-related.
Eurogamer also notes that almost no one from the Alien: Isolation design team is still employed at Creative Assembly. This is a studio whose bread and butter is strategy games; it makes sense that people who specialize in first-person survival horror wouldn’t have a long-term home there.
Another thing to take into consideration is that Eurogamer traditionally has an excellent record with reporting on rumors. It’s one of those outlets with solid sources across the industry. Most importantly, Eurogamer usually doesn’t weigh in on rumors unless it’s reasonably sure it’s correct. Through restraint and reliability, it has become a publication that’s trusted more than most others.
But, the true nail in the Alien: Isolation 2 coffin might just be that Sega was never happy with the original’s numbers. In May 2015, the publisher told investors that its sales were “weak” at 2.11 million units shipped (many of which were sold at a discounted price). If the mostly-critically-acclaimed Alien: Isolation couldn’t sell to Sega’s expectations, especially with a big marketing push behind it, it’s understandable that the idea of a sequel wouldn’t garner much faith.
There are plenty of reasons why this rumor is dead in the water, but there’s a good reason as to why it took off in the first place: People want to believe. Alien: Isolation was a fantastic title, and the first video game to do Alien justice in a long time. Wanting more of that, even against all odds, is a perfectly reasonable reaction. But, it’s probably not going to happen, at least in the near future.
Alien: Isolation 2 rumour isn’t true [Eurogamer]
