Early in June, Bulletstorm and Outriders developer People Can Fly cancelled two unannounced projects. Now, new reporting from The Thumb Wars and Insider Gaming indicates that one of these projects was a sequel to the 2021 looter-shooter Outriders.
While The Thumb Wars initially reported that the game was ‘nearly complete’, Insider Gaming casts doubt on this front. Regardless of how far along development of ‘Project Gemini’ was, the cancellation was reportedly due to a breakdown in communication between People Can Fly and the publisher. The cancellation also followed the developer’s second round of layoffs in six months.
If this were an Outriders sequel, the publisher in question would be Square Enix. As established, the original statement from People Can Fly’s CEO Sebastian Wojciechowski points to a lack of communication. Unfortunately, current reporting has provided no more specifics. Square Enix is known for having immense sales expectations, so perhaps an Outriders sequel was seen as too risky, given the current state of the industry.
People Can Fly also cancelled an original IP live-service codenamed Project Bifrost. Insider Gaming’s source also stated that, internally, Bifrost was described as a ‘generic, trend-chasing product lacking in originality and creativity.’ Ouch. With the recent failures in the live-service space, such as Concord and XDefiant, even anticipated AAA projects like The Last of Us Online are facing cancellation across the industry. Their status as a perceived gold rush has seemingly reached an end.
Despite these two cancellations and a slew of layoffs, People Can Fly does have numerous titles in the works. Their next release is slated to be Gears of War E-Day sometime in 2026.
About the Author
Austin Gallagher
he/him
Austin enjoys long walks on the beach, sunsets, and games with turn-based tactical combat. If he isn't save-scumming in XCOM or a immersive sim, running a tabletop RPG, or climbing a rock wall... wait that's not Austin... what is that?
