Annapurna Announces Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth As First Internally Developed Title

The Annapurna Interactive Showcase 2023 event ended with a huge reveal, as the company announced Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth, its first internally developed title. This will be the fourth video game set in the Blade Runner universe, following a shoot-em-up released in ’85, the classic Westwood Studios game in ’97, and a VR game from 2018.

Blade Runner is a dark sci-fi franchise about hyper-realistic androids who hide among humanity in a dystopian future. This setting is ripe for video game adaptations but has only received a few over the years. This could be because it’s easy enough to tell stories about decaying societies with realistic robots that you can make a game without needing to pay for expensive film licenses.

Related: Classic 1997 Blade Runner game getting remastered enhanced edition

Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth Is Coming To PC & Consoles

The Annapurna Interactive Showcase was one of the closing shows of Summer of Gaming 2023. The event ended with a bang as Chelsea Hash (Solar Ash, What Remains of Edith Finch) revealed they would be directing Annapurna Interactive’s first internally developed title: Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth. A trailer is now available on the Game Trailers YouTube channel.

The trailer reveals that Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth happens after the Black Out event. The Black Out happened in May 2022, when a plot to detonate a nuclear warhead over Los Angeles succeeded, causing a ten-day electricity blackout in the region. This resulted in Replicant production stopping. The dialogue in the trailer suggests that the protagonist is a Blade Runner who has been brought out of retirement to hunt for Replicants, which have mysteriously reappeared.

Unfortunately, the trailer was short on concrete details about the game. It’s unclear what genre Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth is or when it’s coming out. The only details regarding Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth are that it’s coming to PC and consoles (though which consoles exactly are unclear) and that it can be wish-listed on Steam. There is a Steam page for Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth, but it’s equally short on details.

Related: When is the release date for Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty?

There are many reasons to be excited for Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth, especially with Annapurna Interactive and Chelsea Hash at the helm. The Blade Runner universe is overdue for a modern video game adaptation, especially when titles like Cyberpunk 2077 left many people underwhelmed. The time might have come for Blade Runner to make people forget about all those lame cyberpunk games and have the memories fade away like tears in the rain.