Friday the 13th: Gun Media Launches Kickstarter for Video Game Based on Horror Franchise

In the gaming world, we’ve seen some renewed interest in Jason Voorhees of “Friday the 13th” fame, thanks to his welcome appearance in the brutal “Mortal Kombat X.” It seems, though, that the iconic masked slasher could soon be starring in his very own video game.

“Friday the 13th: The Game” has just gone live on Kickstarter. The crowdfunding page describes the title as a third-person, asymmetrical multiplayer game, in which 7 players assume the role of camp counselors, while one player gets to stalk, brutalize, and murder them as Jason Voorhees himself.

Jason is “an unflinching, brutal killing force; the ultimate predator, and for the first time ever YOU control this horror icon,” developer Gun Media states in the game’s campaign page.

Check out the official announcement trailer here….

As for the camp counselors, they’ll consist of stereotypical horror movie victims, from “the jock” to “the girl next door.”

For the sake of game balance, said camp counselors will have the opportunity to fight back and even defeat Jason: “It’ll be difficult, require some teamwork, and perhaps a bit of ingenuity, but we’ll be giving you the tools and opportunities to realize the biggest win in horror gaming.”

The game will be set in “the semi-open world of Camp Crystal Lake,” which fans should know from the films.

“It’s a classic horror fan’s dream, no shaky cam, no found footage,” Gun Media says. “We want you to know we’re revitalizing the golden era of slashers, and putting you at the controls of each horrific, blood-splattered moment.”

Slasher Vol. 1: Summer Camp

Gun Media was previously working on “Slasher Vol. 1: Summer Camp” – a game meant to pay tribute to the classic slasher films of the 80s. However, when “Friday the 13th” films producer Sean Cunningham got wind of the project, he contacted Gun Media and offered an alliance.

“That’s when things got awesome,” the developer recounts. “Sean immediately noticed the passion we had for Friday the 13th, and after several incredible meetings over the next few months, we decided to upgrade our plans for Summer Camp and embrace the Friday the 13th video game license. After several incredible meetings over the next few months, Sean surprised us by offering the Friday the 13th video game license.”

‘Violence, gore, and nudity’

It might strike some as odd that Gun Media would choose Kickstarter over finding a publisher. According to Gun Media, however, this decision was made as a result of wanting to stay true to the “Friday the 13th” formula, which can be summed up as “violence, gore, and nudity.”

“Collectively, we wanted to make certain that this game delivers the same kind of fun, brutal scares and creative kills that the franchise is known for and didn’t want to risk having to tell our story with a ‘T’ for Teen rating,” Gun Media explains. “We’re not interested in compromising what made the film franchise so popular. We’re interested in building precisely what we, as fans, want. The ultimate Friday the 13th experience. Blood, guts, gore, brutal kills, and more. You want an experience true to the films, and so do we. It’s about creative control and delivering the best game we can. We want to share that control, with you, not a publisher.”

Gun Media’s “Friday the 13th: The Game” campaign is asking for a hefty $700,000. Should the Kickstarter exceed expectations, the game could expand from a multiplayer-only game to one that includes a single-player campaign.

“…the proposed single player portion will give you the Jason experience you’ve never had; direct through his eyes,” states Gun Media. “We’ll be offering several ‘scenarios’ based off classic movie scenes from the franchise as you stalk and kill each and every counselor from a first person perspective. Not to leave the counselors out, we’ll be adding several counselor scenarios where you’ll have to confront your fears and take on Jason directly, especially in compromising situations! We are not going for anything less than a Mature Rating on this; the franchise deserves it! These scenarios might also make their way to VR, and would bring an entirely new perspective to the slasher genre!”

Gun Media is aiming for an October 2016 launch date for “Friday the 13th: The Game.” It should be available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

Heres the ‘Friday the 13th: The Game‘ Kickstarter page, currently at $255,885.

Credits: Image – TJD, GMA News