3D Realms was working on a PvE Alien game before the Disney Fox merger pulled the plug on it

I’ve always wondered: Now that Disney owns 20th Century Fox, does that make Ellen Ripley an official Disney princess? The science adds up what with her being a host to a Xenomorph queen embryo in Alien 3, so it has to be true. SCIENCE. Anyway, when the house of mouse finalised a deal to absorb all of Fox’s prime time entertainment into its colossal empire, a few casualties were bound to happen.

One such victim was Cliff Bleszinski’s plan for an Alien game which sounded rather dang cool, but here’s the rub: He wasn’t the only developer in town looking to take a crack at HR Giger’s nightmare fuel of vagina crab monsters and homicidal penis biological weapons. Frederik Schreiber, 3D Realms vice president, provided a glimpse of how his studio in collaboration with the team over at Slipstream had planned to create a four-player co-op PvE Alien game that would have seen players taking the fight to a local queen and her clutch of eggs before the inevitable rash of chest pains could occur inside of a colony.

Called Aliens: Hadley’s Hope, pre-production had started and then the Disney acquisition pretty much killed the project. Shame. Here’s a look at the pitch that Schrieber tweeted:

A misfitting mix of colonists and Marines fight together for their lives against a protective alien queen who’s willing to do whatever it takes to safeguard her eggs. Storyworld-driven PvE multiplayer adventure shooter dripping with atmosphere, lore and suspense. And long-range plans to add new content for year.

Players group up to battle the Alien Queen and her relentless swarm of Alien Protectors. The game requires teamwork and tactics in order to make progress through each level. Only after surviving several levels wil the team face off against the Alien Queen in her well guarded lair. Unluckily for players, there are numerous Alien Queens – This planet is a breeding ground with literally dozens of Queens and their hives. The initial release of the game will have several unique settings of levels, each with its own style and challenges.

Levels will be packed with mission-critical goals, and also side-goals (like the egg hunt) that can reveal extra loot, additional story nuggets and ALien lore Easter eggs.

We could have had the Left 4 Dead equivalent of an Alien game and Mickey Mouse said no. I hate that damn rat and I don’t even want to think of what else might have hit the chopping block in Disney’s kitchen. Dammit, just imagine the Disney Infinity figures we could have had with the Fox purchase.

Last Updated: February 18, 2020