FPS Legend John Romero Is Determined To Bring His Once-Canceled ‘Big Game’ Back

My mom always told me, “Never give up on your dreams!”. And turns out John Romero’s mom might have said the same thing, since he’s focused on bringing his recently shelved project back to life.

First, let’s rewind a bit for some context. Earlier this summer, developer Romero Games revealed that funding for its upcoming project had been pulled, leaving the game in limbo and, unfortunately, forcing the studio to let go of a number of its developers.

However, it seems that John Romero, best known as the iconic co-creator of DOOM, Quake, and Wolfenstein 3D, is determined not to let it die completely.

Canceled But Not Forgotten: John Romero’s Big Game Might Live Again

John Romero recently attended San Diego Comic Con Malaga and shared some information (thanks, Game Reactor) regarding Romero Games’ current state and its future plans after dealing with the harsh situation of shelving a project.

Basically, he stated that they haven’t given up on reviving their unannounced project, even if it means starting from scratch, using its assets to create something completely new.

“Well, we’re still figuring out what we’re going to do with our big game”, explains Romero. “We own the IP, we own the code, we own everything about the game, right?”.

He went on to say that several companies have already expressed interest in the project, so he’s looking for a proper partner. “We have a lot of companies that are interested and still working with us on it”, he says.

“Because when you develop a game for years and you put in, say, $50 million into a game, if you move and start working with somebody else, they get $50 million for free. So lots of people want to continue working on something, you know, and even if that doesn’t happen, you have $50 million worth of assets that you can use to make another thing. So no matter what, you are shortcutting the end of your game, right? To be able to get your game done faster, you already have a lot there already.”

When asked how far along development had been, Romero said the game was roughly “midway” through production when Microsoft decided to pull its publishing deal. So maybe the project may still see the light of day, even in a different shape? Well, only time (and John Romero) will tell.