Dutch developer Blue Box Game Studios revealed the PS5 ExclusiveAbandonedin 2021, promising it would arrive later that year. However, the company doesn’t seem to have made a meaningful amount of progress since then.
Now, it looks like the survival horror title isn’t coming any time soon, or possibly at all. While developers haven’t officially canceledAbandoned,a new report indicates that developers may not be actively working on the game.
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According to Gamespot, several people close to the project confirmed thatAbandonedis on holddue to a lack of funding. Project lead Hasan Kahraman said Blue Box is working on a playable prologue to help finance the game. However, the studio has not made much progress on that front. More than just a case of poor management and unrealistic goals, the latest news paints a picture of a duplicitous and erratic lead developer with little to back up his promises. Part of the problems may come from multiple and radical changes to whatAbandonedeven is.
Initially pitched as a survival horror game about a man abducted by an evil cult, it’s reportedly been rewritten multiple times. During this process,Abandonedgained and lost concepts like rogue AIs and vampires, with one source describing the latter concept as aResident Evilclone.Abandonedhas also reportedly oscillated between the initial survival horror concept and becoming an action game. Kahraman has since circled back to the original concept of a first-person horror game about a cult in the wilderness, but he still has nothing to show but a few wall textures and unfinished assets. As GameSpot’s Mark Delaney put it, “As it stands, there isno meaningful evidence thatAbandonedexistsin any real way.”
It’s not unheard of for games to suffer from an unclear creative vision. However, Kahraman’s behavior has been uniquely concerning even without getting into his deleted tweets promotingthe rumors thatAbandonedwas secretly aSilent Hillgame. Most of the available information comes from members of a private online chatroom who told stories of his dishonesty and erratic mood changes. According to these sources, he dismissed potential business partners as “scammers,” attempted to pursue a romantic relationship with one group member, and made odd requests and job offers.
Many sources describe a toxic community where members were pressured to support the game while being punished for criticizing or asking questions. Kahraman also became paranoid after community members reportedly leaked some ofAbandoned’s unfinished assets. Several chatroom members were asked to sign dubious non-disclosure agreements, which asked them for personal information and were notable for their lack of professional language.
Even Kahraman’s studio, Blue Box, exists under a cloud of suspicion and contradictory information. He claims to have a team of about fifty people developingAbandoned. However, Blue Box’s registration with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce only lists ten employees. The company also registered under a second name, Pixel Molecule. Frankly,the story ofAbandoned’sdevelopmentseems to have more twists and turns than the plot of an actual horror game.
Abandonedis reportedly in development for PC and PS5.
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