Steam Leak Reveals Unreleased Scream Game Ahead of Its Time

Several major slasher movie franchises have been turned into online multiplayer games in recent years, but they all would have been predated if a planned Scream video game had seen the light of day. An unreleased game based on Scream has been unearthed, revealing how an ill-fated project was secretly ahead of the curve.

Per Kotaku, a huge leak of Steam files from 2003 to 2013 was exposed over the weekend, and people have been digging through them looking for early builds and other unique finds from that period in gaming history. X user Roly Poly Reaper went viral after sharing footage and images of an unannounced Scream video game developed by Fatshark (Escape Dead Island, Warhammer 40K: Darktide). A group of players were able to get the final build of the game running, with another post showcasing the multiplayer mode in action with Ghostface attacking multiple survivors.

The Scream Game Predated Dead by Daylight by 5 Years

As seen in the video clips, the secret Scream game functions like modern asymmetrical multiplayer horror games. One player takes on the role of Ghostface, while others play survivors hoping to avoid the masked killer's murder spree. The final build was dated Feb. 2011, just two months before the release of Scream 4 in theaters. That puts it five years before the release of Dead by Daylight, which predated the licensed horror multiplayer games like Friday the 13th: The Game, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and this week's release of Halloween: The Game.

Roly Poly Reaper shared in a follow-up post on X a likely theory for why the Scream game was never announced or finished. Looking more closely at the files led to the conclusion that the build was likely a pitch prototype to try to acquire the Scream license to officially make and release the game. It is believed that the studio did not approve the pitch, at which point the project was abandoned. Had it gone through, the game would have been the first of its kind several years before similar titles would find success.

Is it Time for Scream: The Game to Become a Reality?

There has only been one official Scream video game, which was a simplistic mobile game based on Scream 4 that was released in 2011. However, the Ghostface character has been brought into a variety of other titles as a guest character. Notably, the character was added as a playable killer to the roster of Dead by Daylight in 2019. Gamers can also play as Ghostface in other titles like Mortal Kombat 1, Fortnite, and multiple Call of Duty games.

It's always possible that a new official Scream game will be made. There are new installments of the movie series still being made, with Scream 8 currently in early development. Following the release of Halloween: The Game, there could be some new momentum for Scream to get its own tie-in game as well, letting it finally carve out its own space in the world of asymmetrical multiplayer horror games.

First Film Scream First TV Show Scream Created by Wes Craven, Kevin Williamson Latest Film Scream 6 First Episode Air Date June 30, 2015 0:00 / 0:00