Leaked gameplay footage of Prey 2, the ambitious cancelled project of Bethesda

Unreleased images reveal how the sequel to Prey was going to be for Xbox 360.

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One of the most curious stories within Bethesda is back in the spotlight: Prey 2, the canceled project from the beginning of the last decade, has just shown leaked, never-before-seen gameplay courtesy of a former Human Head Studios developer. The studio was responsible for the Prey original on Xbox 360, and for a time, worked on this sequel that was close to seeing the light of day.

The information comes from Dave Halsted, a former team member, who has shared a compilation of videos featuring playable scenes from the title. Bethesda planned to release Prey 2 in 2012, just before the launch of Xbox One, although the project was ultimately canceled in 2014.

This is what the canceled Prey 2 looked like

The videos showcase the futuristic style that Human Head Studios was aiming for, with an open-world approach filled with action and alien ambiance. Everything points to this being a more ambitious and different proposal than what ultimately became the reboot by Arkane Studios in 2017.

The path of the Prey saga has been turbulent: after the cancellation of this sequel, Bethesda handed over the brand to Arkane Austin, which launched the reboot in 2017 before moving on to work on Redfall. With the studio’s closure in 2024, the future of the license is in doubt, although the leak of this material serves as a reminder of what could have been one of Bethesda’s biggest bets in the Xbox 360 generation.