Alien Isolation was revered for how well it captured the essence of Ridley Scott’s 1979 classic film, Alien. The lack of a followup in recent, however, meant that the new franchise (and its semi-cliffhanger ending) would be left drifting aimlessly in space for the imminent future. That might change due to a new trademark listing for a possible Alien Isolation sequel. 20th Century Fox filed a trademark on November 22, 2018 for “Alien Blackout” under “computer game discs; software, namely game software, downloadable computer game software,” and more titles related to digital interactive media.
Alien Blackout has not been confirmed to be a direct Alien Isolation sequel nor has 20th Century Fox formally announced anything. But, besides the specificity of the trademark, there are multiple different aspects that give more credence to it being a followup to Amanda Ripley’s story.
Geoff Keighley’s Game Awards will air on December 6, 2018. Along with the titular awards, the show is rife with game reveals and trailers. Keighley recently tweeted a photo that heavily points to something in the Alien franchise since the font of the “W” looks vaguely similar to the one found in Weyland-Yutani’s logo. Weyland-Yutani is, of course, the evil corporation in the Alien series. The Game Awards did not announce the first game, but it unveiled during January 2014; nine months before its release.
Creative Assembly, given its schedule, could also be behind the sequel. The developer is shutting down the free-to-play Total War Arena in February and Total War: Three Kingdoms is likely winding down in development since it is coming out in March 2019. A reveal in the next few weeks could signal a fall 2019 release, which would mirror the first title’s schedule.
However, this is not the first tease for an Alien Isolation sequel. Creative Assembly pulled the Alien Isolation website back in June, which was just before E3. The timing made it easy to assume an announcement was forthcoming, but it never came.
Alien Isolation was divisive but beloved by those who did enjoy it. It sold 2.1 million units in six months, which Sega did find disappointing.
