Fans of the Paranormal Phenomenon series and fans of indie horror films have received unpleasant news: the game Paranormal Activity: Threshold has been officially canceled. The development was stopped, and the reason was not a creative crisis or lack of funding, but the copyright holder’s harsh refusal to compromise.
Table of Contents
The authors of The Mortuary Assistant have announced a game based on the “Paranormal phenomenon”
The game was developed by DarkStone Digital studio under the leadership of Brian Clark, the same man who released the iconic indie mortuary simulator The Mortuary Assistant in 2022. Back then, the non-standard mechanics and atmosphere brought the project a devoted audience on Steam.
In 2024, Clark announced a new project: Paranormal Activity: Threshold, a game based on the famous film franchise, which was supported by the publisher DreadXP. Paramount Pictures was responsible for the license. The project aroused interest: the found footage horror performed by the author of “Morgue” sounded promising.
Paramount refused the postponement, and Threshold had to be closed.
Clark himself announced the closure of the project by posting an appeal to the players. According to him, the team did not have enough time to bring the game to the proper quality. He was not going to release a “raw” product, and asked DreadXP to coordinate the postponement with Paramount.
Paramount refused. That’s where the main question came up:
-
To release the game in the state it was in is not meeting its own standards;
-
Or cancel the license and close the development.
Clark chose the second path. For a developer whose reputation is built on small but well-honed projects, the release of a deliberately unprepared game was unacceptable.
Licensed Movie Games: When Hollywood Kills a Project
The story of Paranormal Activity: Threshold is a good example of how studio and developer interests diverge in one direction, while the copyright holder goes the other way. Paramount, apparently, was not ready to postpone the contractual terms, even for the sake of the quality of the final product.
There are many such stories in the gaming industry.
Licensed movie games are often released in a hurry — and this is what becomes their main problem. This time, the developer decided not to repeat other people’s mistakes. The question is whether the fans will appreciate it more than a failed release.
What will happen to DarkStone Digital after the cancellation of Paranormal Activity: Threshold
There have been no official announcements about the studio’s next project yet. Brian Clark has not commented on what he will be working on after Threshold closes. Given the success of The Mortuary Assistant, the audience will surely be watching his next move with interest — whatever it turns out to be.
There are already wishes among fans for an original project without licensing restrictions. Well, sometimes canceling one opens the way for something better.
