Prey confirmed, developer revealed

Two weeks ago, CNN/Money's Chris Morris revealed that 3D Realms' long-canceled PC shooter Prey had been resurrected and would be on display at E3. He said Take-Two Interactive would likely publish the game, and an unnamed "third party" was developing it.

This week, that unnamed third party was revealed, when a new Prey forum was opened on the Web site of its onetime developer, 3D Realms. In one thread 3D Realms president George Broussard said outright that "Human Head Studios is developing Prey," confirming the game is back in development. Most recently, Madison, Wisconsin-based Human Head developed the Western shooter Dead Man's Hand.

However, while he did make Prey's comeback official, Broussard did not reveal all his cards. He did not answer posts asking if the game would use the Doom 3 engine, as Morris claimed. Nor did he say when the game would come out. "Each game will ship when it's ready."

That said, Broussard did give some insight into why Prey's development was suspended some seven years ago. "Prey was cancelled because it never came together...The tech was never really stable or finished." He did, however, express optimism that Human Head would do the revamped game justice. "Hopefully it will be cool," he said.

Meanwhile, something strange has been happening at Prey.com. At first glance, the URL appears to be occupied by a bland placeholder page, displaying an array of oddly cynical advertisements. But after a few seconds, an expanding ring of fire burns a hole in the center of the page, leaving a black hole in the middle. A few seconds later, the words "Earth's savior doesn't want the job" flashes briefly. It is then followed by a glimpse of a young girl with glowing eyes or a shadowy picture of a Native American bird totem.

Given that the hero of Prey was one Talon Brave, a Native American warrior battling a host of alien invaders, the totem implies that Prey.com is a teaser site for the forthcoming game. That tenuous connection is cemented, though, by the fact that the very same bird totem is the icon on the Prey forum on 3D Realms' site.

GameSpot will have more details on Prey as they emerge.