Friday the 13th gets permanently axed

Friday the 13th was actually quite a bit of fun when it came out last year—with the right group of players, at least—and showed real potential for future improvements, too. Sadly, publisher Gun Media has now confirmed that potential will never be realized, as new content development has been permanently ended.

"I wanted to address a few questions that I’ve had sent to me personally, as well as questions we’ve received through the official F13 channels. These questions vary but all have a similar tone/request. 'Is there a chance of any content being added to the game if a ruling on the dispute occurs in the near future?'," Gun Media founder and president Wes Keltner wrote on the Friday the 13th forums. "The answer is no."

"Development on games can’t just pause indefinitely and pick back up again; it doesn’t work that way. Especially when you have no idea when that future date will occur. We can’t keep building content that may never see the light of day. That’s bad business."

The problem arose from a legal dispute between the creators of the original film, and the ensuing question of who actually owns it. I expressed hope at the time that a resolution of the lawsuits might see development resumed, despite how long the legal battle has already dragged on, but it was a faint hope at best, and this outcome really isn't surprising.

Keltner added that it's also not possible to add new content, like original locations or counselors, even if it's unrelated to Friday the 13th. "We can’t add any content, whatsoever. Nada. Not even a new tree or rock," he wrote. "We can only focus on console dedicated servers, bug fixes, and maintenance."

"I know this isn’t the news you wanted to hear and I wish the situation were different. But it’s the painful truth."

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.