Sharpen The Machete: A New FRIDAY THE 13TH Game Is Coming

Composer Harry Manfredini spilled the beans on the upcoming project.

By Ryan Scott · @RyanScottWrites · June 7, 2023, 7:45 PM EDT
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Image courtesy of Gun Media

It’s been an awfully long time since we’ve had much of anything to enjoy when it comes to Friday the 13th, in no small part due to the legal battle between original director Sean S. Cunningham and screenwriter Victor Miller. However, the dust is settling, and Jason Voorhees is returning to us in various forms of media over the coming years. Case in point, it has been revealed that the machete-wielding slasher is getting a new video game.

Unfortunately, details are slim for now, but the information comes directly from longtime franchise composer Harry Manfredini, who has composed the music for nearly every movie in the series since the 1980 original. Speaking to Rely On Horror, Manfredini revealed that a new Friday the 13th video game is in the works. No word on the studio developing the game, what platforms it will be available on, nor when we can expect to play. He teased that it will feature “more realistic looking” characters compared to 2017’s Friday the 13th: The Game, which was developed by IllFonic and published by Gun Media.

The report indicates neither the studio nor the publisher of that game will be involved, as this is an entirely new undertaking. Whatever the specifics, this is a pretty major development. Jason was tied up in legal red tape for years, preventing anything from happening with the franchise. Friday the 13th: The Game had to stop adding new content in 2018 due to those pesky legal issues. That’s all changing, though.

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Not only do we have this mystery game coming our way, but we’ve also got Peacock’s prequel series Crystal Lake in the works from Hannibal’s Bryan Fuller. The one thing we don’t have is a new movie. Though, with a game and a TV show on the way, that now feels closer to becoming a reality than it has in a very, very long time. In short, things are looking good.

As for when we might learn more about this game? It’s worth noting that Summer Game Fest runs from June 7 through June 12, with various developers and publishers showcasing their games coming down the pipeline. So we could (strong emphasis on could) learn more in the coming days, if we’re lucky.

This new Friday the 13th video game does not have a release date, but stay tuned as we’ll bring you more details as they’re made available.