Sony Rejects The Order: 1886 Sequel Over Reviews, Developer Claims

According to a recent statement by Andrea Pessino, co-founder of Ready at Dawn, Sony allegedly rejected a sequel to *The Order: 1886* due to the original game’s mixed critical reception. Speaking with MinnMax, Pessino revealed that despite the lukewarm reviews in 2015, the team was eager to continue the franchise and would have “signed our life away” just to deliver a sequel for the fans.

Released as a visually stunning PlayStation 4 exclusive, *The Order: 1886* combined steampunk aesthetics with supernatural action set in Victorian London. While praised for its graphical fidelity, critics found fault in its linear gameplay and lack of depth. Despite this, Ready at Dawn remained passionate about expanding the universe and pitched what Pessino described as an “incredible” follow-up to Sony.

“It would have been an incredible sequel, I can tell you that for a fact,” Pessino stated, though noted he couldn’t share further details due to not owning the franchise rights. “We pitched the sequel to Sony regardless of [the critical reception] and, in a way, it's better that they passed because if we thought we were going to be screwed before, man, with the sequel, we would have signed our life away.”

Pessino also shed light on the strained development relationship between Ready at Dawn and Sony during the making of the original title. The studio faced intense pressure to maintain the high graphical standards showcased in early reveals, which led to difficult compromises—including cutting features and rushing the final product to meet deadlines.

Sony reportedly withheld payments when certain visual benchmarks weren’t met during development milestones, even though those delays were necessary to focus on other critical aspects of the game. While Pessino acknowledged this payment structure is common in third-party publishing deals, it made for a frustrating production cycle.

Despite the rocky past, the team was ready to endure an even tougher contract for the sequel just to give fans closure. “We were going to do it just because we wanted to deliver it to the players,” Pessino explained. “But we would have been... Terrible budget, budget would be small, we would have been completely at the mercy of any decisions and things because we had no leverage whatsoever.”

He added that the groundwork for the sequel was strong, hinting at untapped potential that never got the chance to flourish. Unfortunately, after Meta acquired and later shut down Ready at Dawn in 2024, those hopes are now permanently out of reach.

To add salt to the wound, the original game ended on a dramatic cliffhanger, leaving fans hanging for nearly a decade. IGN gave *The Order: 1886* a 6/10, noting, “Though a stylish adventure, *The Order: 1886* emphasizes its cinematic polish at the crippling cost of gameplay freedom.”