Dead Space Creator Would Make a Game Based on Alien if He Got Complete Creative Control

Glenn Schofield is known for having worked on one of the most beloved titles in the survival horror genre – Dead Space. In more recent times, however, he has faced a fair number of issues, from the middling critical reception of The Callisto Protocol, to him having to cancel his more recent projects due to lack of funding. In an interview with PCGamer, Schofield has also revealed that he would be up for making a game based on the classic sci-fi horror action franchise Alien.

While he did express interest in the idea, he also noted that he would want to come up with his own take on the Alien franchise, complete with his own ideas of what a Xenomorph would be. He has even gone as far as messing around with generative AI tool Midjourney to try and create different kinds of Xenomorphs. Ultimately, however, he would be happier with working on one of his own projects rather than a licensed IP.

“Let’s say I took on a licence,” he said. “Which I really don’t want to do; I want to make my own. Let’s say somebody came to me and said, ‘We’re going to give you the Alien licence.’ Immediately I could show you, I don’t know, maybe 100 different aliens I’ve made in Midjourney over the last two years, just because I like it. So yeah, I would love to make an Alien game.”

When it comes ideas about potential discussions with Alien IP owner 20th Century Fox – itself owned by Disney – Schofield noted that he would want complete creative control over the project, referring to it as “not even negotiable.”

“I have to own the creative,” he said. “That’s not even negotiable. Because I won’t make a great game unless it’s mine and I’m so ingrained in it—then I will give you 130%.”

Earlier this year, Schofield had spoken about facing difficulties with getting new projects off the ground since his departure from Striking Distance Studios. Among the things he was working on at the time, he also wrote about a project alongside his daughter.

“Over the past eight months, I’ve been quietly working with my daughter, Nicole, on a new game idea,” wrote Schofield. “She came to me with it, and I immediately loved the idea. Something I hadn’t seen before. We’ve been calling it a new sub-genre of horror—not just horror, but something more.”

Difficulties with getting the project going largely came down to budgetary concerns, however. While he had decided on a budget of $17 million for the project at the time, investors weren’t biting, with some asking him to “get it to $10 million”, and then later going even lower, down to $2 to $5 million.

“So last month, we decided to walk away. Some ideas are better left untouched than done cheap,” he continued. “We had a team of six here in the States and a full crew in the UK. Now, everyone’s looking for work. They’re all talented folks—if you’re hiring, let me know.”

In his post, Schofield noted that, with the current state of the gaming industry and the difficulties with getting funding, he might be done with his career as a game director.

“I’m still around, making art, writing stories and ideas and still cheering the industry on,” he wrote. “But maybe I’ve directed my last game. Who knows? If so thank you playing my games.”