Annapurna Interactive revealed its first internally developed game, and it’s a little outside of what the company usually publishes. It’s called Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth and is coming to PC and consoles sometime in the future.
What is Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth?
Its platforms and release window are quite vague, which is symbolic of how little is known about this licensed title. The listing on Steam has it under the “adventure” and “exploration” tabs, but it’s unclear what players will be doing from moment to moment. The trailer is more of a tone piece that sets the mood and doesn’t seem to have any gameplay.
The description reveals that it takes place between the original film and Blade Runner 2049 (which seems obvious, given the year in the title) and asks one question: “What does a Blade Runner do when there are no Replicants left to hunt?” There’s even a quote, presumably from the main character that reflects this.
“Lots of people lost things in the Black Out. I was lucky, I just lost a job. But now they want me back.”
Chelsea Hash introduced the game during the Annapurna Interactive Showcase 2023. Hash has worked on a number of titles, including Outer Wilds, Neon White, Maquette, Last Stop, Solar Ash, and many other Annapurna games in various roles. Hash is the director of Labyrinth, and it has been in the works for the past year.
Blade Runner has been absent from the video game medium for some time. The last title was 1997’s point-and-click adventure game Blade Runner that told a story with a different protagonist from the first film but ran parallel to it. It was recently remastered in 2022 for PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC, and Xbox One.