Developer Answers Questions About Friday the 13th The Game Future

Horror icons are undergoing a renaissance. Michael Myers is returning in a Halloween sequel set forty years after the original. Robert Englund recently donned Freddy Krueger’s Christmas sweater one last time for The Goldbergs. Jason Voorhees, however, finds himself caught up in legal woes, leaving Friday the 13th seems lost in a Hell of its own. Gun Media, the developer behind Friday the 13th: The Game and fans have been especially hit hard. DLC plans have been tossed and no one knows if things will change for the better. At the very least, Gun Media has offered an update on the title’s future.

Gun Media addressed several concerns in its forums with a response to frequently asked questions. According to the developer who made the post, Wes Keltner, the studio recently met with franchise “license holders.” Information the team is legally permitted to disclose all appears in the forum post.

FAQs and answers were presented as follows:

Q: Does this mean you (Gun Media) can create new DLC now?

A: We cannot currently add new DLC or Content to the game and it is unclear if this can ever happen. We can only perform maintenance, balance, QoL fixes and bug fixes.

Q: Why won’t/when will Gun Media add Uber Jason/Grendel/Clothing DLC?

A: The entire license is currently under a legal microscope. We wish this was a more clear-cut, black and white scenario, but it is not. There is a lot of gray. We hope that in the near future more legal clarity will occur, but this is not Gun’s call. As mentioned previously, at this time we can not add any new content, regardless of where the content falls within the F13 canon (Uber Jason for example).

While Uber Jason appeared to be close to being finished, there was still remaining work that needs to be completed in order to finish him. When we got word to stop, we stopped. There were clothing packs and kill packs that were also nearly complete. However, the Grendel map still had months of work to go. When this content was leaked, we were under 50% complete. It is not likely that Grendel will ever see the light of day.

Q: Why did you (Gun Media) decide to stop making content?

A: The decision was made for us to stop making content due to the sensitivity of the legal process. Gun does not own rights to Friday the 13th: The Game. We continue to work with our partners at Horror, Inc. as more information unfolds. Gun wants to release content, as do our partners at Horror. Until more clarity is provided, we can not add new content.

Q: Why won’t you (Gun Media) settle with/pay Victor Miller to create content?

A: Gun is not a part of the legal issues surrounding the license. It is not our call to “settle” or “pay” anyone as it relates to the legal issues. Our partners at Horror, Inc have reached out a few times in an effort to settle with Mr. Miller. However, we were informed that this communication was ignored. We hope that all parties can come together in the future, so we can add some new content, but it’s not likely, nor should it be expected.

Q: Why won’t Horror Inc. settle with Miller so you can create content?

A: As mentioned previously, this has been attempted in the past with no progress. Our partners at Horror, Inc will continue to reach out to Mr. Miller, but until communication lines are opened up, there is very little we, or our partners can do at this time.

It’s a lot to take in. The gist of it is this, at present, the state of the franchise remains in limbo. In early October 2018, a court ruled in favor of Victor Miller (the original film’s screenwriter). As such, settings, characters, and lore crafted in the 1980 screenplay are off limits to anyone, barring Miller. For now, the details are incredibly confusing.

Technically, it seems franchise producer Horror, Inc. could launch a project starring a hockey mask-wearing serial killer, as that aspect of Friday the 13th doesn’t debut until Part 3. However, names such as Voorhees, Crystal Lake, etc. remain restricted. Naturally, this puts Gun Media and its multiplayer title in a tough spot.