F.E.A.R. sequel gets its name.

PC News | And there's not an acronym in sight.

The sequel to F.E.A.R.(a game with a title that's only nominally less irritating to type than S.T.A.L.K.E.R.) has had its moniker decided on by the public. Holding a competition soliciting name suggestions from fans, Monolith, the team behind the game, have let the polls decide upon Project Origin as the title for the next chapter in the story of F.E.A.R.

The original game was a first-person shooter in which you were part of the ‘First Encounter Assault Recon’ team, a secret government organization that specialized in dealing with paranormal threats. Why would Monolith want to rename a product that not only has a reasonably well recognisable name but also the brand recognition that comes along with an established intellectual property? In 2004, Warner Brothers acquired the Monolith team, and while they maintained the concepts behind the game and its world, Vivendi, from who Monolith had come, continued to hold the rights to the F.E.A.R. name.

On the direction of the new title, Troy Skinner, producer at Monolith Productions stated, "we are excited to expand upon the work we began in the original game and establish Project Origin as a premier gaming franchise in its own right." As an aside, it is still entirely possible for Vivendi to still release a game with the F.E.A.R. title. Confused yet? Custody battles are always messy.

Currently the game is in development for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. For more info on the game, or for some humorous contestants that didn't quite make it to the finish line of the naming race, visit Monolith's contest page for more information.

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8 Comments

Tom101007

4 years ago

I just never understood why they were both assault AND recon, i thought recon was lightly equiped to move fast and assault heavily equiped for assaulting things. the two just dont mix together

So for that reason only im liking the dropping of the F.E.A.R. name

Kaboth

4 years ago

Oh my what a mess. Project Origin is a bit dull really, but it could develop a distinguishable franchise name with just using the term Project with assorted sub-terms for each title.

Karai Pantsu

4 years ago

It may not be an exciting name, but it fits with the story-line and makes sense to those who played through the first (or at least, those who chased down the messages to flesh out the plot).

I voted for it.

ObsoletE

4 years ago

Quote

On the direction of the new title, Troy Skinner, producer at Monolith Productions stated, "we are excited to expand upon the work we began in the original game and establish Project Origin as a premier gaming franchise in its own right." As an aside, it is still entirely possible for Vivendi to still release a game with the F.E.A.R. title. Confused yet? Custody battles are always messy.

heh - yeah, Monolith (who created the IP) have custody of the world, where Vivendi have custody of the name. i personally think Monolith got the better deal.
F.E.A.R.: Perseus Mandate is due out relatively soon - it apparently runs parallel to F.E.A.R. and F.E.A.R.:EP.

i agree to certain extents with all three posts above me.
F.E.A.R. doesn't make much sense - though F.E.A/R. does, but looks messier. plus, i'm sure we're all aware it was most probably a backronym, as opposed to an acronym.
i agree that Project Origin seems more like a sub-title than a complete name, but as Karai said, it does fit with the original game's plot. perhaps they'll try shift it so the fanchise is known as Project Origin, and F.E.A.R. is the first subtitle. similar to Command and Conquer 1 became known as C&C: Tiberian Dawn.

whatever - all in all i'm very glad that the franchise is moving ahead. i loved the first game and can't wait for further titles.

The Brett

4 years ago

F.E.A.R. was great because it was memorably generic, but Project Origin is just regular, boring generic. First thing I thought about when I heard that name was the Playstation 2 epic X-Squad.

Chrispys411

4 years ago

Project Origin is A.O.K
Way better than F.E.A.R.
Project Origin nicely slides off your tongue lol.