The Mortuary Assistant dev on laying his cancelled Paranormal Activity game to rest, resurrecting it as a Halloween freebie, and a potential return to his biggest game
Brian Clarke discusses the cancellation of Paranormal Activity: Threshold, the release of Playable Archive as a Halloween gift, and future plans for The Mortuary Assistant.
Brian Clarke, the developer behind the horror hit The Mortuary Assistant, has released Playable Archive—a short found-footage horror experience—as a free Halloween gift. The project serves as a way to breathe life into his cancelled Paranormal Activity: Threshold, turning a massive, unfinished undertaking into a compact showcase of his creative vision.
The journey of Playable Archive began following the success of The Mortuary Assistant in 2022. After being approached by publisher DreadXP, Clarke pitched a concept to Paramount to expand the Paranormal Activity universe. The resulting project, Paranormal Activity: Threshold, aimed to deepen the franchise's lore through a custom demonology system. The gameplay was designed to shift perspectives between found-footage recordings and a detective's investigation, jumping between timelines to uncover a supernatural conspiracy.
Despite positive reception at PAX East, the project hit a roadblock regarding production timelines. Clarke requested an extension to finalize localization, porting, and essential polish like motion capture and voice acting. However, Paramount declined the request, aiming for a Halloween release. Faced with the choice of releasing a compromised, rushed product or ending the project to protect his reputation, Clarke and DreadXP decided to halt development.
Following the cancellation, Paramount allowed Clarke to retain the assets he had created. This enabled the creation of Playable Archive—a 30-to-45-minute experience stripped of the Paranormal Activity branding. Clarke emphasized that he had no intention of charging for the experience, viewing it instead as a way to give the project a proper send-off.
While Playable Archive has been well-received, Clarke has ruled out a full-scale revival of the original Paranormal Activity game. He cited the technical difficulty of decoupling the content from the licensed IP and a personal desire to move forward rather than revisiting a stalled production cycle. Instead, he plans to carry over successful elements from the demo—such as the Ouija board mechanics and non-linear timelines—into future, original projects.
Currently, Clarke is working on several new ideas, including a potential sequel to The Mortuary Assistant and a prototype incorporating mechanics from his cancelled work. After a four-year hiatus from releasing full-length titles, the developer is highly motivated to bring a complete new project to players soon.
Флешка
