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I don’t know which is more pathetic: Bethesda finally killing Human Head Studios or HHS sending Rune 2 out to die

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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.