Black Isle seeks crowdfunding to revive PV13

Black Isle Studios is trying to make a comeback. The Interplay subsidiary, which returned to life this summer, has launched a crowdfunding initiative to revive Project V13. This game was previously known as Fallout Online until Bethesda retained the rights to the Fallout universe earlier this year.

The crowdfunding drive for Project V13 does not mirror similar fan-supported initiatives. Those who back the project with at least $10 will not receive a copy of the game, but instead access to the Black Isle forums (which will only go online if enough support is raised and not before the end of January). Money pledged is not going towards the final product, but rather a "proof of concept" prototype that Black Isle will pitch to raise additional capital needed to finish the game.

According to the Black Isle website, Project V13, in its latest iteration, is a post-apocalyptic strategy role-playing game. Players will create a character from a variety of backgrounds (humans, mutants, advanced cyborg) and set forth.

"Explore the world, meet friends, and fight your neighbors for control of resources. PV13 will be your chance to rebuild a devastated world," a statement reads.

All mentions of "Fallout" have been removed from the game, and a video detailing Black Isle's work on the project (below) bleeps out every utterance of the word. It is not clear how similar Project V13 is to Fallout Online, though developers said "major changes" have been made.

"PV13 has been in development for years, but we've had to make some major changes recently," the statement reads. "We believe the changes are for the better and we're excited about working on this new iteration of PV13."