The Stanley Parable's narrator answers your (definitely real) release date concerns
To whom it may concern
Is that a tingling in my ears? Has Kevan Brighting's soothing voice returned to comfort my lobes? The Stanley Parable's narrator is back in a new trailer, and he's got some concerning news regarding the development of the upcoming Ultra Deluxe edition. Reluctantly, regrettably, and due to popular demand, it appears the labyrinthine adventure's second remake won't be launching as planned this year.
Between you and me, I'm starting to question the legitimacy of these fan emails.
While it was s'posed to launch by the end of this year, The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe probably won't arrive until sometime in early 2020. Oh well. It's not like we don't have two editions of The Stanley Parable to play already.
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is the third iteration of the sprawling self-aware joke generator. First concocted as a Half-Life 2 mod by developer Davey Wreden way back in 2011, Wreden's teamed up with permanent bed-head sufferer William Pugh to build a commercial remake in 2013.
They've since gone off to do their own things: Wreden releasing thought-provoking "game about game development" The Beginner's Guide and true-crime RPGs featuring Keanu Reeves, while Pugh's studio Crows Crows Crows developed zany first-person comedies like Dr Langeskov The Tiger and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist, VR business software Accounting and a free night club MMO.
Ultra Deluxe sees the pair reunite to bring The Stanley Parable to consoles (boo, hiss etc). Ultra Deluxe will still hit PC, bumping the game over to Unity and adds a bunch more laffs, gaffs and endings. They reckon the new additions amount to about half the size of the original script, enough to justify a whole new version. After that, no more. Three editions is more than plenty.
Until then, might I suggest hunting down that original free Half-Life 2 mod? It's remarkably quaint, all things considered.
Disclosure: I'm fairly chummy with a few of the folks over at Crows Crows Crows. Big fan of real crows, too. Brilliant wee things.