Vikki Blake
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Fans think they've uncovered proof that 2009 action game Prototype could be getting a new lease of life.
While the game has mostly remained dormant on Steam since its release 16 years ago, eagle-eyed fans spotted a flurry of updates behind the scenes via SteamDB, as well as a revealing datamine effort that has discovered a mysterious change to the game's credits that adds in remaster studio, Iron Galaxy, and a curious reference to Ubisoft Connect.
That's not all, though. "So one of the OG modders for the game data mined the recent update and has found a lot of interesting things," StanleyMitchel explained on the game's subreddit. "For Prototype 1, they have added some test maps and quite a few new names in the credits. There might be some hope for a remaster after all."
They then linked to two text versions of the game's credit roll, which highlights the changes. These include a new "downloadable content" team, another team for "Ubisoft Connect Version," "Activision Localization," "Demonware," and finally, "Iron Galaxy Studios." In all, 753 changes were made to the original credits list.
"One of the new studios in the credits worked in [sic] the Spyro remasters," Nixson wrote on Discord. "This is 100% confirmed. They're remastering the games. Likely using the same engine/code or some hybrid like Oblivion. There's a lot of new names in the credits, mainly other Activision studios," they added. "I'm starting to think the new Prototype game in-the-works thing may be true."
As for the strange Ubisoft Connect reference? Don't forget that when Microsoft acquired Activision as part of its historic $68.7 billion deal in 2023, Microsoft agreed to sell Activision's cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft. So while none of this is confirmed, it's possible Prototype is one of the games Ubisoft will be adding to its subscription service. Watch this space.
Prototype sees you take control of Alex Mercer, a dark, genetically mutated shape-shifter with no memory of his past, hell-bent on solving the mystery of his existence as he tears through New York City. We had a good time with it when it released way back in 2009, calling Prototype a "game with many cool features [but] lack[ing] many of the finishing touches that make for a great and memorable game."
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.