Andrea Pessino, co-founder of Ready at Dawn, revealed that Sony declined a sequel to the PlayStation 4 game, *The Order: 1886*, due to its lukewarm critical reception. Despite this, Pessino expressed that the team was passionate about creating an "incredible" sequel, stating they would have "signed [their] life away" to make it happen, purely for the fans. *The Order: 1886*, released in 2015, was an action game set in Victorian London with werewolves, and while it was praised for its stunning visuals, it received mixed reviews from critics.
Pessino emphasized the potential of the sequel, saying, "It would have been an incredible sequel, I can tell you that for a fact," though he was limited in what he could share due to not owning the franchise rights. Despite the initial game's poor reception, Ready at Dawn pitched the sequel to Sony, but it was rejected. Pessino suggested that it might have been for the best, as the conditions for making the sequel would have been even more challenging.
The development of the original game was fraught with difficulties, as Ready at Dawn had a strained relationship with Sony. Pessino explained that the team had to cut numerous elements to meet deadlines, resulting in *The Order: 1886* being released before it was fully ready. Sony's expectations for graphical fidelity, based on early pitches, led to withheld payments when Ready at Dawn couldn't maintain those standards during development. This situation, while standard in the industry, contributed to the tension between the developer and Sony.
Despite the challenges, Ready at Dawn was willing to accept even tougher conditions to create a sequel, driven by their desire to deliver for the players. Pessino noted, "We were going to do it just because we wanted to deliver it to the players 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." The team was eager to redeem the franchise, believing the groundwork laid was strong and deserved further development.
*The Order: 1886* ended on a cliffhanger, leaving fans hopeful for a sequel. However, with Ready at Dawn being shut down by its owner, Meta, in 2024, those hopes have been extinguished. In IGN's review, which scored the game a 6/10, it was noted that while the game was visually impressive, it sacrificed gameplay freedom for cinematic polish.
