A couple of hours ago, Bethesda announced the formation of Roundhouse Studios. As the publisher noted, Roundhouse is staffed by the team from the recently closed Human Head Studios. Now this last part caught me off guard. Did I miss a memo? When did Human Head Studios close? Rune 2 has just come out on the Epic Games Store so what the hell is going on here?
The team basically gave the finger to its Rune fans, just so it can close its doors the moment it released the game. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that its developers have already landed on their feet, however, what was the point of releasing a new Rune game? Who will support Rune 2 now? What happened to that sweet deal that Human Head Studios signed with Epic Games for releasing the game exclusively on EGS?
It’s really pathetic how Human Head Studios treated its Rune fans. Some may say that Rune 2 could never happen without Epic Games’ money, therefore we should be thankful for at least getting a new Rune game. However, back in May 2019, Human Head claimed that it needed more financial support to finish the game. That financial support came with the EGS exclusivity deal. And what’s the reason Human Head is closing one day after the game’s release on EGS? Economic realities and financial issues.
Let me repeat that; the studio is closing one day after the game’s release. Therefore, Human Head must have been in deep trouble way before accepting the deal with Epic Games. It was also in talks with Bethesda for the past couple of months (this type of acquisitions don’t happen in a matter of days). And if that was the case, the team has been basically lying to its Rune fans for the past few months.
It’s also funny witnessing Human Head Studios’ latest official statement. And I’m saying this because Bethesda initially tried to bully and acquire the studio when it was working on Prey 2. Instead of accepting this offer, Human Head Studios declined. It decided to stay independent and that resulted in the cancellation of Prey 2.
In 2013, a former Human Head Studios employee claimed that there was a working version of Prey 2. Furthermore, IGN’s inside sources claimed that Bethesda tried to bully Human Head Studios. This “political game” from Bethesda was – and still is – inexcusable. After all, it costs us a game we were really looking forward to.
Long story short; Bethesda tried to acquire Human Head Studios. The latter refused and the former put a stop to the development of Prey 2. Human Head Studios’ developers then exposed Bethesda and decided to move forward with other projects. Fast forward six years and here we are today with Bethesda finally acquiring Human Head Studios.
Seriously, this is as sad (or funny) as witnessing Bethesda acquiring Obsidian Entertainment, especially if we take into consideration the bad blood between these two companies.
In conclusion, I’m not sure how I feel about this. On one hand, we may finally get that Prey 2 game we always wanted. On the other hand, it’s really pathetic witnessing all those “strategical GoT games” between these companies.
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
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This is a nice change of article type for once 😉
Great article John!
Thank you for that!
It reminded me of the day I watched the Prey 2 trailer with the great Johnny Cash score! I had been super excited at the time with what I saw!
I think HHS sending Rune II to a certain death is far more pathetic, the game just released and surely needs support post launch, it’s a big FU for all the buyers
I can’t stand the EGS but I’m glad that it exists because it reveals the shady devs that are out there.
Man if you think a Developer taking money to finish a game is “shady” I’d love to hear what you have to say about Steam or every other store that has pulled terrible sh*t before that trumps trying to establish a financial backing for game development.
That’s the beauty of it, it’s not finished – it’s pure alpha trash and only Timmy Tencent would be dumb enough to pay for it.
I never implied it was a fully finished product, I said “to finish”; to finish means to do something to completion, not that something is actually a completed product. Which in the context of what I was saying, would mean to take money TO complete the product at some point.
Obviously Timmy Tencent saw more than we did and felt the product was worth paying for the development in order for them TO complete the product and probably had to release anything once he got screwed over through them shutting down.
Which is silly since Rune never was a good game to begin with and was very bland and forgettable.
>Developer taking money to finish a game.
Did they tho ? is that garbage looks finished to you ? what kind of a large black pe*is stucked in your head right now ?
I’m just basing this off what the article says. I didn’t even watch the video because Rune isn’t even worth looking at. The original game was boring, and I’d imagine this game would have also been boring as hell should they have finished it
CODEX cracked Rune 2 two days ago.
#EpicFail
Almost everything that recently related with either Bethesda or EGS went FUBAR’d. Those two companies are gaming industry’s $hit magnet. Everything they touches turns into either scandal, corruption or outrage. If I were video games industry worker, I wouldn’t let myself involve with them.
Let’s hope Beth would take care of post-release product services for Rune 2.
Epic money is there to support devs to scam you all. sorry had to say it. btw good news article, like to see more. got called toxic and butt hurt and entitled when we said they are anti consumer, both the store and sellout devs, they are f*cking up the industry but at the end people who defended such a thing can now enjoy.
It’s not just video games
Branding has become such a cancer that people are willing to defend companies that kill infants if need be.
This is societal, a product of extreme consumerism and while brand loyalty has always been a thing it’s gotten progressively worse and now it’s gotten completely out of hand, where before people looked at brands and companies more casually and were influenced subconsciously they’re now actively defending them and consuming products of said companies simply because of their name.
You’ve got people whose whole identity is what they buy from clothes to entertainment products.
The peak of this is actually happening in China where people who have and waste a ton of money on useless sh*t are often praised by doing so.
What the f*k is Steam Greenlight then? How many devs bailed after releasing early access trash?
It’s a s**t system with tons of junk, but how it that comparable to this ? in Steam’s junkyard you have options to buy and support that trash or ignore it, in the other, well devs got rewarded already by making tons of money without even selling a single copy of the same trash.
Wow, John himself writing an opinion piece must mean he’s absolutely furious.
that headline.
LOL, it’s awesome actually 🙂
Preach, feels bad Man 🙁 and there really is nothing else to say.
Like i said, bethesda has turned into ea.
” On one hand, we may finally get that Prey 2 game we always wanted.”
You wish.
They could be working on prey 2 , but of course it will not be what the original vision would have been, it will be the system shock genre again as it was the first one. I mean the reeboted one.
More of these editorial opinion pieces, please.
Pretty informative, had no idea HHS had closed down.
Most of their talent had been gone quite some time ago though, shame .
Is Bethesda even capable of developing, or even publishing something that isn’t a complete wreck anymore?
Wow, John wrote an actual article..
F*k Bethtesda and F*k EGS.
Yep, big time.
F*k you brainwashed zombie
I bet the downvoter is Robo Fernando and Kim…
Upcoming repacks
? Rune II
Epic, make piracy great again.
John, it’s how capitalism works – money talks.
Yep. On the surface it just seems like they had intentions of jumping over but had to release that game out of legal obligations.
Looking at Bethseda’s history on Wikipedia, it says they have a history of making developers fail on purpose so they can scoop them up.
I dunno man, is there any industry not steeped in shady practices anymore?
It’s been looking to get on the same level with the big boys (the movie and music industries) and these last 5-10 years have been fruitful in that regard. What was once an outlet and a great hobby for people have been turned into a cash cow of epic proportions where quality and releasing a stable product are things thought of in the last place and revenue is all that matters.
Or you could use the toddler system where government approved monkeys with zero talent produce one game for the people and you enjoy it or get “re-educated”. Get the frick out of here. It is also capitalism that allows all these indie devs to create these amazing games that would never see the light of day in any other system.
Rune II sales on EGS must have been 2.5x times Rune I sales on Steam.
xd
i laughed hard HAHA
Thankfully Epic supported them that they could at least finish Rune 2, otherwise they would have been undoubtedly forced to close the doors much earlier and cancel the game entirely.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/eae9a545d808a9070ae9dbdbb1e5741f3df7abae2b6311570f09201df54e7563.jpg
Did not finish Rune II. Played it and its Alpha. Granted not a terrible Alpha but an Alpha none the less.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPN0qhSyWy8
If Prey 2 is coming back – which I highly doubt – the game will be called something else.
Again, I doubt it. Bethesda hasn’t had a good track record when it comes to making good decisions these past few years.
Nearly 2 decades later and the next Rune game goes exclusive to a store hardly anyone wants to use.
I guess they get what was due, and that’s getting the axe.
Glad I wasn’t invested in the IP, because I’ve no interest in Rune 2 whatsoever.
Well that was fast….
1272 Rune II v0.0.9L
Genres/Tags: RPG, Open world, Third-person, 3D
Company: Human Head Studios
Languages: RUS/ENG/MULTI6
Original Size: 24.2 GB
Repack Size: 10.3/10.5 GB [Selective Download]
Epic, make piracy great again.
“On one hand, we may finally get that Prey 2 game we always wanted.”
Amusing how people just can’t come to grips with the fact that these companies will never create games they want, again. I’m sure whatever pile of digital, money-siphoning s**t they would slap the name “Prey 2” on to, would be the pinnacle of gaming. Yep. No doubt in my mind.
“Gamers”, have shaped this industry in to what it has become, through their acceptance and welcoming of all the garbage practices you see today. Best just accept it and either play along, or just retire from the hobby.
The days of getting a “game we always wanted”, are long gone. Now you get whatever fad is sucking the most money from the intellectual sludge of humanity, because, profit.
The state of this hobby, is a colossal insult to anyone with an IQ greater than that of a brick.
Same sentiment can be applied to both movie and music industries.
Good article John,i’m glad its not another nude mods news from you 🙂
Prey 2006 was trash. If you liked it, you’re trash. Stop clinging autistically to one of the worst shooters in the past 20 years and get over it.
There was not one single outstanding element of that game. After the intro, it was pure generic hallway shooter with uninspired weapons, story, level design, and combat. The graphics were the main draw at the time and they were still completely out shined by Crysis and even Source. The ONLY reason anyone liked the intro is because of Blue Oyster Cult.
The sequel could have been interesting but that brings us to the next fact – Human Head Studios sucked. As you can see from Rune 2 and Prey 1. Bethesda didn’t screw HHS over, either. Prey 2 development was already floundering for almost a decade before Bethesda had anything to do with it.
As for Rune 2, any interest in this game should have evaporated the second EG got their hands on it. I was excited AF when they announced this game, then I read about it and it already sounded like a letdown before Epic. Then Epic got involved.
As for Rune 2, any interest in this game should have evaporated the second EG got their hands on it. I was excited AF when they announced this game, then I read about it and it already sounded like a letdown before Epic. Then Epic got involved.