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Creative Assembly’s ‘Alien: Isolation’ Prototype Went Viral Within Sega
Prior to its official reveal last week, Alien: Isolation was merely a thread of rumors, speculation, and leaked screenshots. Now we know it’s coming, and we’ve been assured that it will bring the series back to its roots in survival horror. Limiting it to a singular, terrifying xenomorph that stalks an unarmed Amanda Ripley throughout an abandoned space ship — like Outlast in outer space — is a solid start, I think.
Following the confirmation that Creative Assembly is indeed the studio making it, I couldn’t help but wonder how this particular studio — known for its portfolio of strategy games — got Sega to greenlight such a project. Find out how they scored a dream gig after the break.
Creative Assembly’s Alistair Hope and Jude Bond recently sat down with Edge magazine to chat about the upcoming game. After Sega acquired the electronic rights back in 2006, the two formed a small team with the goal of creating a prototype for a survival horror take on the series.
Six weeks later and they had a working concept that featured a player-controlled xenomorph. The decisions the player would make even guided the design of the AI in Isolation. It showed a lot of promise, and eventually, it started to get attention within Sega.
“In a way, that was just us being fanboys, just having a chance to build some alien environments,” Hope told Edge. “But that little tech demo went a bit viral within Sega, and suddenly it seemed like this pipe dream of making a game based on the original Alien [film] started to get some momentum.”
If you aren’t already envious of them, you’re about to be.
Once development on Alien: Isolation kicked off, the folks at Creative Assembly were given access to 20th Century Fox’s archive of never-before-seen Alien material. Concept art by HR Giger, who’s responsible for the now iconic design of the alien, pen and paper designs from Ron Cobb, and more. I don’t know about you, but I have the sudden urge to go apply for any opening they may have available right now.
Alien: Isolation is near the top of my most anticipated games of 2014, as I’m sure it is yours. It’s slated to release on the PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4 later this year.
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The discovery of life beyond Earth leads to paranoia and danger for a family in the new trailer for The Outer Threat.
The sci-fi thriller heads to Digital and VOD on July 10, 2026.
In The Outer Threat, “After making a groundbreaking extraterrestrial discovery, astrophysicists Daniel and Michelle are forced to flee from home with their family — pursued through the countryside by a relentless and anonymous assailant. As their flight unfolds, the line between cosmic revelation and human paranoia blurs, leading to a tense and emotional confrontation that challenges the boundaries of understanding, science, and survival.“
The film comes from writer-director William Woods and stars Constance Wu, Mark O’Brien, William Fichtner, Callista Crowe, Isaac Smelcer-Zhang, Oscar Hsu, and Murray Furrow.
Maddy Falle, Albert Shin, and Allison White produce. Executive producers include Rob McGillivray, Ben Stranahan, Tom Spriggs, John Hansen III, Patrick Vipond, Jared Blaichman, Jonah Blaichman, and Randall Okita.
The Outer Threat arrives on the heels of Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day, circling similar territory. The truth about the existence of aliens leads to danger in the trailer below.