Until Dawn
Image: Supermassive Games / Sony Computer Entertainment

Update: Since initially publishing the article, we've added a comment from Until Dawn & The Quarry writer & director Will Byles contesting the accounts of both of our sources.

Last night's State of Play saw Sony announce a newly rebuilt and enhanced port of Until Dawn for PS5 and PC, from the developer Ballistic Moon, again raising the question of why its original developer Supermassive Games has yet to make a sequel to the popular survival horror game.

But what we've been told is that a sequel was actually considered at one point by the studio and Sony, with former employees informing the author of this article that this game eventually morphed into what became the 2022 title The Quarry.

We came upon this information back in 2022, during an investigation into Supermassive's work culture (prior to its acquisition by Nordisk Games in July of that year). At the time, we spoke to 6 employees, all of whom alleged that the first few entries of The Dark Pictures Anthology had been subject to mismanagement and a lack of resources/time and that the studio itself didn't offer much in the way of growth, with junior designers being lumped with non-design tasks like inputting animation data.

The investigation was never published for a bunch of different reasons, some of which included Tencent gutting the video game publication it was originally written for, possible signs the studio may be improving for the better, and the eventual change in ownership. By the time we put it aside, we had managed to speak to multiple employees, with a couple of them claiming The Quarry initially origininated as a pitch for Until Dawn 2.

One employee, for instance, told us, "The Quarry team was originally Until Dawn 2 working with Sony. And Sony basically paid for them to be making this for them as a prototype. Then once the prototype was done, Supermassive turned around and said, ‘We’re going to shop this around and see if anyone else wants it”, which was kind of the final nail in the coffin of any relationship with Sony. They ended up getting picked up by Google who funded it for years."

Another employee seemed to confirm The Quarry was at one point Until Dawn 2, but offered a slightly different take on these events, suggesting it was Sony who broke things off over The Dark Pictures' multi-platform approach: "The Quarry started as a pitch for Until Dawn, but they didn’t have the license. They burnt their bridges with Sony by releasing Dark Pictures on multiple platforms. As far as I’m aware someone else has that license now."

In a comment, published below, Will Byles, the director & writer of Until Dawn & The Quarry contested our sources' versions of events. He wrote:

"I am the writer and director of Until Dawn and The Quarry. The Quarry was written as a stand alone game and Sony paid nothing to its development. It was originally being made for Google Stadia."

The Quarry was eventually released in 2022, with 2K picking the game up after Google backed out of the project. At the time, it was marketed as a spiritual successor to Until Dawn, leading some fans to speculate about a possible connection to the horror hit. No connection, however, has ever been revealed publicly, as far as we're aware, with neither Supermassive nor Sony commenting on the end of its working relationship, also.

What's fascinating about these recent announcements, considering the remarks from these former employees, is the total lack of acknowledgment from Supermassive Games regarding the news of an Until Dawn movie and the PS5 & PC release.

Looking at Supermassive's social media feed, for instance, the company hasn't shared any of the recent announcements to our knowledge, despite fans tagging them in several posts excited about the news.