Roundhouse Studios, the team behind Rune, Prey and Defiance, might be working on a new Judge Dredd game given the reveal that its present project may be a team-based third person shooter using a major comic book license.
Roundhouse Studios was called Human Head Studios before Bethesda snapped it up two years ago. “Sadly, we had to wind down the business of Human Head Studios and close its doors, which was particularly devastating due to the passion and creativity of the team we’d assembled,” said creative director Chris Rhinehart in the announcement. “We reached out to our friends at Bethesda for help, and they saw that same creativity and passion in our team. With the formation of Roundhouse Studios, Bethesda offered every employee of Human Head a position at the new company."
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Considering the number of studios that sadly shutter following fiscal troubles, Bethesda became a beacon of light for Human Head Studios. However, the publisher of Rune 2 was not so thrilled. Ragnarok brought a lawsuit against Human Head Studios for “breach of contract,” “fraudulent misrepresentation,” and “unfair business practices”, adding that the studio abandoned the game. Awkward. I'm sure it's all water under the bridge now.
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Since then, though, we've not known what Roundhouse Studios has been up to. It was mentioned in the slew of studios that Microsoft acquired through its purchase of Bethesda Softworks along with id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks and Alpha Dog. As a result, we would expect that its future projects are PC and Xbox exclusive.
Spotted by comic book fan Faizan Shaikh, Human Head Studios was working on an online team-based PvPvE third person shooter based on a major comic license in 2019, according to the LinkedIn profile for a senior programmer. Shaikh claimed that the studio's senior character artist is still working on this same game today though it's tough to tell because the company has no official website or social media channels.
"Team-based" plus "PvPvE" plus "third person shooter" plus "comic" inspiration seems to suggest The Walking Dead. However, it's evident that there's a lethargy when it comes to this apocalyptic adventure - we've got the Telltale ones, Survival Instinct, Dead Reckoning, Road to Survival, Overkill's The Walking Dead and more. Those speculating on what Roundhouse Studios is working on are much more inclined to theorise it will be a Judge Dredd game.
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Oh, but Rebellion owns 2000 AD, you pipe up. Well, you silly sausage, don't you remember that Rebellion said that it would be approaching other studios to take on the license back in 2017? The timing would work out for Human Head Studios and Rebellion to enter a collaboration and start on a Judge Dredd game, then Bethesda bags the developer after Rune 2 releases, and three years later, suddenly Microsoft has a studio that's got its own Judge Dredd game waiting in the wings. Of course, there is no confirmation of this from Roundhouse Studios nor Rebellion, and we're all having a lovely time throwing theories out into the air, so we'll have to wait and see what is in store.
Featured Image Credit: Buena Vista Pictures, Reliance EntertainmentTopics: TV And Film, Bethesda
