Bethesda used to be a gaming company held up as one of the undisputable greats, thanks to its efforts on series like The Elder Scrolls, Dishonored, and Fallout that made players feel like the future of gaming was here, and anything was possible. However, its titles in recent years have been hit-or-miss, with games like Starfield getting negative reviews after failing to live up to expectations.
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In an interview with DBLTAP, former Bethesda marketing and communications head Pete Hines expressed how the company is “not the same” as it used to be, and talked about a regret he had over the studio’s 2017 title Prey, which was generally well received when it released. Hines felt that the naming choice overshadowed the game itself, and he vehemently fought an internal battle against it, unfortunately losing in the end.
Why Pete Hines Regrets That Prey Used That Name
In the interview, Hines talked about his disappointment after losing the battle over the name, which he felt sapped positive energy from discussions around the game. “Don’t even get me started on that,” Hines said. “I definitely pissed some people off internally over that because I fought so hard against using that name. I’m the head of the spear, but I had a lot of people across my team – brand, PR and community – and we feel like we’re burdening it with a name where we spend more time explaining why it’s called Prey than we do talking about the game.
“I regret that I lost that battle. But nobody on this planet could have put more of a good faith effort into changing minds on that. My whole point was, look how much time we spend talking about what the game is versus why it’s called this and like, that is wasted energy. That is wasted excitement. We could be turning that into something positive.”
Fans long questioned why the game was called Prey, thinking the title felt forced because Bethesda’s parent company, Zenimax Media, had previously acquired the rights to the series IP while 3D Realms was having development issues with Prey 2. A few years back, this theory seemed to be given some credence when Prey director Raphaël Colantonio confirmed on a podcast that Bethesda had forced Arkane to use that title. “Our game had nothing to do with Prey,” said Colantonio. “There is a bit of the artistic/creative side that is insulted when you tell [an] artist ‘You know your game? It’s going to be called Prey.’ And you go like, ‘I don’t think it should. I think it’s a mistake.’”
Recently, leaked gameplay footage from the canceled Prey 2 appeared online, showcasing an open-world experience that fans never really got in the 2017 Prey reboot, which was comparably much smaller in scale and broke the action up with fast travel loadings screens. The dreaded loading screen has become an annoying staple in Bethesda projects as of late, which is a mistake I hope they will learn from when The Elder Scrolls 6 releases.
What are your thoughts on the 2017 remake being called Prey? Does it deserve the title, and would a Bethesda follow-up game keep the same name despite the criticism? To me, a proper Prey 2 seems especially unlikely now that Arkane Austin has shut down and Bethesda seems to be off its game in the current era.
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