[Chicken, He Clucked]

In this Interview with Raphael Saadiq from Illfonic (around 1h mark):

With Sony’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife movie set to launch this November 19, it looks like there’s more ghost bustin’ on the way even in the form of video games. Illfonic, the studio behind Friday the 13th: The Game, Predator: Hunting Grounds & more, are working on a new Ghostbusters game!

This was confirmed by studio co-founder Raphael Saadiq in a recent podcast. When asked how many games Ilffonic has and has out, Saadiq said the following:

"Friday the 13th (was) the last one, and Predator (Hunting Grounds), and we’re working on Ghostbusters right now, and Arcadegeddon is out right now"

The part where Saadiq says it is around the 1:00:20 mark.

No other details were shared, sadly. Given Sony owns the Ghostbusters the IP, there is a chance this is a PlayStation exclusive, since Predator Hunting Grounds can only be played on a PlayStation consoles (outside of PC).

The latest mainstream Ghostbusters video game was Ghostbusters: The Video Game, which was originally released back in 2009, and developed by Terminal Reality. It was re-released for the PS4, Xbox One in October 2019.

Illfonic tend to make asymmetric multiplayer games and their Friday 13th game was excellent (if undersupported due to licensing problems). Predator was equally rough around the edges but less well-received.

It's unlikely to be a big budget open-world single-player game. Still... this could be very good for those missing the multiplayer component from the 2009 remaster.

It's likely to be Sony exclusive and their other games so far have been supported post-launch with DLC characters, maps, cosmetics and additional content for at least a year so if this follows the same model we'll be in for a treat.

[Bison256]

This does not bode well considering the developer.

[Chicken, He Clucked]

This does not bode well considering the developer.

I'm optimistic. They're a better pedigree than Terminal Reality (not a criticism of TR) - GBTVG has dated in the gameplay department.

Predator has mediocre reviews but it runs at 60fps on PS5 and has an active playerbase still. It looks and sounds the part which is a lot of what sells a licensed game.

Friday the 13th - ignoring the teething troubles it had - was a much better slasher game than Dead by Daylight. It's a fantastic party game, it was just mishandled and low-budget... then the court case prevented them adding new content after they ported the engine.

At the very least we can expect an average game with decent production values thrown at it by Sony and plenty of content to keep the playerbase rolling for a year or so.

Edit: I took rumour out of the title because the co-founder of the company literally said they were working on it.

[LouisZeddemore]

I was hyped when seing this thread's title, but wasn't as excited once I figured out which company is working on it. I'm very sure it'll be another multiplayer only game, similar to the ones they released already. Since I'm not into multiplayer games at all, I'm not sure I'd pick that up.

However, if it turns out to be their first step into story driven games and feature a full length story campaign, I'm all in.

[ccv66]

I don't understand why Sony didn't just re skin the spiderman game, firehouse is already in it.

Seems like a VR game would go good with Ecto goggles

[mrmichaelt]

I'm intrigued but not too familiar with video games anymore. They do console games or is this another phone game?

[LouisZeddemore]

I'm intrigued but not too familiar with video games anymore. They do console games or is this another phone game?

Their games are on console and PC. Their biggest games are multiplayer "Friday the 13th" and "Predator" games. So, they're familiar with movie licensed games and probably pitched their idea to Sony or Sony contacted them to come up with something similar for the Ghostbusters franchise.

[Kalonthar]

It's a longshot, but I wonder if there's any chance they were brought on to re-work the multiplayer that was promised for the TVG Remaster? It's been a while since its release of course, but the pandemic has been an issue with delaying things. I bet it's a new game, but that's a thought that briefly crossed my mind.

[mrmichaelt]

It's a longshot, but I wonder if there's any chance they were brought on to re-work the multiplayer that was promised for the TVG Remaster? It's been a while since its release of course, but the pandemic has been an issue with delaying things. I bet it's a new game, but that's a thought that briefly crossed my mind.

Depends on any number of things like squaring things with Terminal, Atari, Sabre; then finding the code which could be lost for all we know -- if Illfonic's game has a multi-player, best they start from scratch on their own.

Also, found a short playthrough with the Illfonic crew for their Predator game if anyone's interesting in getting a glimpse of their work.

[zeta otaku]

I'm interested to see what they do. I enjoy the games they put out so far, but it'd be nice if this one breaks the mold a bit.

That said, their current model could really work for a GB multiplayer game (4v1) or mix it up a bit with a 4v1+. What's the 1+ mean? Okay, so their current games have been either a team trying to escape from or hunt down a single, beefy target. You could have that with this game with the target being the defeat of a terror dog or a durable class 5 both with their own abilities and attacks. On top of the player controlled entity, you could have AI ghosts to cause some chaos and act as fodder and even help the player ghost if they're in danger of being trapped. The GB players would be tasked with, of course, trapping ghosts and/or destroying corporeal entities like terror dogs, demonic entities, etc. They could be given the choice of what gear to bring... break it down to 3 pieces of gear: 1 heavy, 2 light. A heavy would be either a proton pack or slime blower, light could range from walkie talkies (allows for ranged communication in game), ghost traps (a player could opt to carry two), PKE meter, ecto goggles (or whatever they decide to call the goggles), gigameter, and whatever else comes up. Traps would have to be stored in the game's Ecto-1 and players would get fresh traps from it as well... if a GB is downed, the ghosts could smash the traps to not only release the ghosts inside, but to force the GB to run back to the car to replace the busted trap.

Gear upgrades could be available to the players with pros and cons like alternate uniforms that could resist the effects of slime but force the player to take more damage to physical attacks or have the proton stream be stronger, but over heat faster or take longer to reach max heat with a weaker stream. Traps could have like faster capture time, but easier to destroy or is able to hold more entities at once, but take longer to capture.

There's a lot of possibilities and I'm willing to give them a chance to show us what they intend to do.

[Kalonthar]

If its 4 vs 1 I'm wonder about the mechanics of the game. Having a player as a Class V is one thing, but if you're mixing it up and a player is playing as a seemingly non-trappable entity like Gozer or Vigo instead, I'm curious how it plays out.

Either way, I just hope there's an offline single player mode. I'm not much of an online gamer since I'm leery of other gamers on the internet (though I guess in this case I'd have the community here, which I trust a whole lot more, lol). I actually quite like the F13 game (I am a fan of the series after all), and it's great that I have an offline mode to play so I can spend my time brutally murdering teenagers... No wait, that came out wrong. Joking aside, I play games for fun, not to deal with possiblr toxicity, so offline options are a big thing for me.

[zeta otaku]

If its 4 vs 1 I'm wonder about the mechanics of the game. Having a player as a Class V is one thing, but if you're mixing it up and a player is playing as a seemingly non-trappable entity like Gozer or Vigo instead, I'm curious how it plays out.

Either way, I just hope there's an offline single player mode. I'm not much of an online gamer since I'm leery of other gamers on the internet (though I guess in this case I'd have the community here, which I trust a whole lot more, lol). I actually quite like the F13 game (I am a fan of the series after all), and it's great that I have an offline mode to play so I can spend my time brutally murdering teenagers... No wait, that came out wrong. Joking aside, I play games for fun, not to deal with possiblr toxicity, so offline options are a big thing for me.

Back when TVG originally released, there would be threads to set up multiplayer matches. I'm sure if this game is multiplayer, the same thing will happen

[Jimsy33]

It's a longshot, but I wonder if there's any chance they were brought on to re-work the multiplayer that was promised for the TVG Remaster? It's been a while since its release of course, but the pandemic has been an issue with delaying things. I bet it's a new game, but that's a thought that briefly crossed my mind.

As far as we know, it was said that they were trying to find the original code for the multiplayer, as it was removed when the studio closed. They also said that if they can't find it, they will have to remake it from the ground up. But as it's been two years now, I assume they didn't found the code, and Sony probably didn't allowed for enough budget to make a new one.

[VenomSymbiote]

Loved the F13 game. It wasn't perfect but you could tell they really tried to make a fun F13 multiplayer game that had the F13 feel. They also knew a lot about the franchise if you played through the cabin tour. Personally I'd love an open world city with all sorts of GB spooks from RGB just with a realistic design. Not sure if they could pull that off since all they've done so far have been smaller style maps. I'd be fine if it was just an expanded version of the 2009 multiplayer mode. Give me Diablo style loot drops for gear, more maps, spooks, modes, etc and I'd be all over it.

[Wern_r]

I would love to have a current Gen GB game! Should be a LOT of fun. I'm still, from time to time, playing the excellent old Ghostbusters the video game.

[CobaltCrimson]

I was excited until I saw it's yet another generic multiplayer game using a movie license. You'd think after the last game that was made did well they'd go that route again.

[mrmichaelt]

Ernie Hudson confirms he's going to record for it, he thinks Aykroyd will, and not sure about Murray.
https://ghostbustersnews.com/2021/12/15 ... volvement/

[timeware]

If there's a time jump between Afterlife and the sequel if it's green lit I'm curious to find out if the game will serve as a gap between the two films. A way to shoe in the 2009 proton pack upgrades without having to acknowlege that games story line. WIth Venkman out, Ray and WInston as either playable or NPC tcould be part of a tutorial explaining to the rookie how the equipment works.

[Dr.D]

I was excited until I saw it's yet another generic multiplayer game using a movie license. You'd think after the last game that was made did well they'd go that route again.

Can you see into the future or do you have information we don't? I'm pretty sure no real details have been confirmed beyond the developer.

[GBfan_CH]

Ernie Hudson confirms he's going to record for it, he thinks Aykroyd will, and not sure about Murray.
https://ghostbustersnews.com/2021/12/15 ... volvement/

For the sake of a game, there’s got to be SOMEONE out there who can do a passable impression of Bill Murray.

Not you, Coulier. Sit back down.

[timeware]

Keep telling him to sit down that puppet's going to stand up and sell t-shirts.

[jonogunn]

Go a diff direction and bring the voices of RGB instead

[Chicken, He Clucked]

The franchise needs new comedic voices imo.

But obv (edit: Maurice LaMarche) could play Egon if they’re setting the game in the past.

[zeta otaku]

Frank Welker? He played Ray and Slimer in RGB. Were you thinking Maurice LaMarche?

[JonXCTrack]

If Ernie and Dan are going to be recording lines, I have hope that there will be a single player component to this game. Even if its something akin to the single player mode in Friday the 13th, I'll take it.

[Chicken, He Clucked]

Frank Welker? He played Ray and Slimer in RGB. Were you thinking Maurice LaMarche?

It’s been a long day.

[deadderek]

Looks AMAZING!

[Chicken, He Clucked]

I'm there day one, I think it looks decent - especially intrigued by the ghost player mechanics like possession etc.

I'm not entirely on board with the bright neon ghost aesthetics - they're reminiscent of the 2009 videogame and ATC. Hopefully there is a wide selection. The potential for the game is huge so... very happy overall.

Greg Miller impressions (sorry dunno how to embed)



Aiming for accessible, short and focused rounds is promising.

[TheManEatingToaster]

I'm very excited for it!!!! But I also hope we get to see an Afterlife sequel because in this game the Ecto 1 and the Firehouse are already fixed, and it would be nice seeing the characters from that movie again!!!!

[Tight-Pants Jack]

From Illfonic:

We're back!

Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is coming to a platform near you.

As a Ghostbuster, join with other Ghostbusters to chase and trap ghosts in museums, prisons, hotels, and more, and capture the ghosts before they can fully haunt the areas.

Or, as the Ghost, hide, sneak, surprise, scare, and of course, slime Ghostbusters and civilians until the everything has gone completely spooky. Use trickery, deception, and Ectoplasm to gain the upper hand and drive the Ghostbusters out.

Ghostbusters TM & © 2022 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Game software excluding Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. elements: ©2022 IIIFonic, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Developed by III Fonic, LLC.