Bloody Hell, What's in a Name? Pete Hines Spills the Tea on Bethesda's *Prey (2017)* Branding Battle
AI Gaming News Author · IGN South Africa ·
Former Bethesda marketing boss Pete Hines has spilled the beans on the internal battle over naming Arkane's *Prey (2017)*, revealing he fought hard against the name due to its confusing baggage and 'wasted excitement,' a sentiment echoed by the game's director. Despite the initial struggles, *Prey* eventually achieved cult-classic status thanks to its sheer quality, proving that even a muddled name can't hold back a truly great game.
Right, so you know that feeling when you're explaining something utterly brilliant to a mate, and they just keep asking about the name, totally missing the point? Yeah, well, imagine that, but on a multi-million-dollar scale, for a video game. That, my friends, is the tale of *Prey (2017)*, a game so good it almost outran its own confusing identity crisis. And now, former Bethesda marketing guru Pete Hines has finally lifted the lid on the absolute kerfuffle that went down behind the scenes, and fair dinkum, it sounds like he's still a bit miffed about it.
For those who perhaps arrived late to the immersive sim party, Arkane Austin's *Prey* from 2017 is widely considered a modern cult classic. It’s a mind-bending, shape-shifting sci-fi horror romp set aboard a derelict space station, Talos I, blending tense atmosphere with incredibly clever gameplay mechanics. Think *System Shock* had a baby with a particularly clever alien, and you're getting warm. But here's the kicker: for a long, long time, people just couldn't get over its name. And honestly, who could blame them?
Because, let's be straight, *Prey (2017)* has absolutely bugger all to do with the *original Prey* from 2006, or its ill-fated sequel, *Prey 2*, which bit the dust in 2014. The original was a portal-heavy, Native American-themed FPS. *Prey 2* was shaping up to be a slick, open-world bounty hunter game. The 2017 version? A slow-burn, atmospheric, psychological survival horror with deep RPG elements. It’s like calling a brilliant new sci-fi epic 'War and Peace 2' just because both have 'war' in them. The confusion was as thick as a Talos I nightmare phantom.
Enter Pete Hines, who, before his retirement from Bethesda in 2023, was the marketing boss who had to *sell* this game to us. And apparently, he fought like a wizard trying to banish a particularly stubborn demon when it came to that name. "Don't even get me started on that," Hines reportedly quipped during a recent interview. He wasn't just mildly annoyed; he was the "head of the spear" leading the charge against it, pissing off a few folks internally along the way.
And you know what? He's got a point. From a marketing perspective, a name is your first handshake with the player. It sets expectations, hints at genre, and ideally, hooks 'em in. When you have to spend more time explaining *why* it's called what it's called than *what* it actually *is*, that's not just wasted breath, it's wasted energy. "We spend more time explaining why it's called Prey than we do talking about the game," Hines explained, lamenting the "wasted excitement" that could have been channelled into positive buzz. It’s like having a magical artifact that's incredibly powerful but also requires a 10-page instruction manual just to understand its name. All that potential for wonder, just... gone.
What's even wilder is that Raphael Colantonio, the creative director at Arkane himself, apparently wanted a different name too, but was eventually strong-armed into sticking with 'Prey.' So, you've got the marketing team fighting against it, the creative lead fighting against it... one has to wonder who exactly was holding that 'Prey' flag so stubbornly high up the corporate flagpole. It’s a classic example of that delicate, often fraught, dance between creative vision and corporate branding, where sometimes, the most baffling decisions get made.
This naming kerfuffle, combined with some nasty PC launch issues (which Bethesda, to their credit, eventually patched up), certainly didn't help *Prey* out of the gate. Colantonio even believed the confusing title contributed to lost sales, and you can hardly fault him for that. When a game's identity is muddled from the jump, it's an uphill battle to capture the public's imagination. Players, especially discerning ones, can be a skeptical bunch – and rightly so, with all the marketing fluff flying around.
But here's the silver lining, the truly optimistic chaotic bit: despite the name, despite the initial stumbles, *Prey (2017)* found its audience. It clawed its way to cult-classic status on the back of its sheer quality – its incredible level design, its unique enemies, its deep narrative. It proved that sometimes, even a name that feels like a miscast spell can't hold back a truly exceptional experience. It's a testament to Arkane's genius, really, that their game was so compelling it transcended its own branding headache.
So, what's the takeaway from this saga? Well, a name can be a powerful thing, capable of building hype or, in *Prey*'s case, building a giant wall of 'huh?' But ultimately, if a game is brilliant enough, it can overcome even the most baffling corporate decisions. It just might take a bit longer, and cause a few more grey hairs for the marketing team. And for that, Pete Hines, we salute your valiant, albeit lost, battle. Cheers, mate.
This fascinating insight was originally reported by IGN South Africa.
Tags: Bethesda, Arkane Studios, Prey, Immersive Sim, Game Development
Original article: IGN South Africa