14 DAY TRIAL // ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda, has announced that it has acquired the Prey license from the Radar Group. The acquisition of the rights to Prey comes after the company bought up developer id Software, the people who created Doom and Quake.
ZeniMax Media has filed patents with the United States Patent and Trademark Office related to “motion picture films in the field of science fiction" in addition to “computer games, video games, mobile games, novels, comic books, strategy guides, and entertainment services” all connected to Prey. The previous owner of the franchise was 3D Realms, which oversaw the creation of the initial game by studio Human Head. Reports were also released that the same team was working on a sequel at some point in 2008.
At the moment, one can only speculate about what ZeniMax is planning to do with the rights but it's a pretty safe bet to say that id Software might be getting ready to crank out a sequel or a spin off making use of the lore of Prey. The original game focused on the character of Domasi Tawodi, a former soldier who has his roots in Cherokee culture, who gets abducted by an alien ship.
He fights his way through the ship using powers granted to him by his Native Indian origins and his soldier skills. Prey has been praised for the way it used gravity manipulation, portals and spirit walking as gameplay mechanics, as well as for the solid shooting elements that it incorporated.
We will likely see what id Software and Bethesda can do with the license, especially considering that a launch will only be possible in about two years, which is five after the release of the first game in the series. Still, it's clear that ZeniMax and Bethesda are really interested in getting id Software to work on something as quickly as possible.