Blue Box's Abandoned May Be In Worse Shape Than You Realized
On April 7th, 2021, developer Blue Box Game Studios teased a game titled "Abandoned" on the Playstation Blog forums. "Abandoned" was described as a first-person horror survival shooter set in a spooky forest with a release date of Q4 2021. Additionally, "Abandoned" lead developer Hasan Kahraman promised an impressive 4k 60fps performance on PS5 at launch.
But the announcement of "Abandoned" had an unintended effect on the internet. The limited details about the game, the ambitious 2021 release date, its relation to Sony, and the general mystery around Blue Box had gamers going crazy with theories. One of the most popular theories was that the game was a tease for an upcoming Hideo Kojima "Silent Hill" project. Kojima pulled a similar stunt with "Metal Gear Solid 5" and has a relationship with "Silent Hill," so many didn't find this theory too hard to believe. Later, Blue Box even leaned into this theory with a, now deleted Tweet, about the true nature of the game.
However, over a year after the game's announcement and well past the previously slated release date, there is still no gameplay of "Abandoned." After the long wait, some even started speculating that the game doesn't even exist. Now things look like they are getting even worse for "Abandoned," as Gamespot claims that lead developer Kahraman has had a string of questionable interactions with fans in a secret group chat.
The game doesn't exist and the lead developer is toxic to boot
According to a report by Gamespot, Kahraman had a private group chat privy only to a select few fans to discuss his work on the upcoming game. According to reports, Kahranab's group chat quickly became toxic. First, Kahraman supposedly would frequently talk behind potential business partners' backs in the chat, calling them scammers, among other things. Additionally, a 12-year-old fan in the group chat allegedly told another member to kill themselves without any repercussions from Kahraman, leading members of the group to believe he condoned this kind of behavior. Kahraman apparently would often play "Rainbow Six Siege" with the chat's members, but they felt as if they were expected to praise him and his game in between rounds, adding to the power imbalance within the group.
Even more alarmingly, Kahraman would ask his fans to work for him without upfront payment on a few documented occasions. For example, he allegedly tried to form a dual working and romantic relationship with an unnamed artist looking to create the game's PlayStation Trophy-related artwork. He also reportedly asked a member of the group chat to store some of the game's physical copies in the US so Kahraman could save money on storage.
Unfortunately, Gamespot's investigation turned up even more alarming news. According to Gamespot's source, in private, Kahraman has stated that the game needs more funding, and there has actually been no work done on the game itself. Day by day, his interactions with his chat are more about finding a squad for a "Siege" match than game development. So maybe the title "Abandoned" had more meaning than anyone could have known.