# Prey (2006 video game)
**Prey** is a science fiction first-person shooter developed by Human Head Studios and produced by 3D Realms, released on July 11, 2006 for PC and [Xbox 360](https://www.edgepedia.org/xbox-360) and published by 2K Games.[1](https://www.mobygames.com/game/23082/prey/releases/) • [2](https://www.cgw.com/Press-Center/News/2006/2K-and-3D-Realms-Announce-Prey-Now-Available.aspx) It follows Tommy, a Native American man abducted by an alien ship, and is built on a heavily modified version of the [Doom 3](https://www.edgepedia.org/doom-3) engine.[3](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/veteran-game-designer-scott-miller-explains-why-it-took-3d-realms-so-long-to-get-pc-gamings-most-ambitious-but-ultimately-flawed-sci-fi-fps-game-over-the-line-lets-just-put-all-our-eggs-into-the-duke-nukem-basket/) • [4](https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Prey) The game is known for its eleven-year development history, which began as a 3D Realms project in 1995 before the studio passed it to Human Head.[3](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/veteran-game-designer-scott-miller-explains-why-it-took-3d-realms-so-long-to-get-pc-gamings-most-ambitious-but-ultimately-flawed-sci-fi-fps-game-over-the-line-lets-just-put-all-our-eggs-into-the-duke-nukem-basket/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | July 11, 2006, for PC and Xbox 360; a Mac port announced in 2006[5](https://www.gamespot.com/games/prey-2006/reviews/) |
| Developer / producer | Human Head Studios (development), 3D Realms (creation and production), 2K Games (publishing)[2](https://www.cgw.com/Press-Center/News/2006/2K-and-3D-Realms-Announce-Prey-Now-Available.aspx) |
| Engine | Heavily modified Doom 3 engine[4](https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Prey) |
| Signature mechanics | Wall-walking, portals, spirit-walking, and gravity flipping[2](https://www.cgw.com/Press-Center/News/2006/2K-and-3D-Realms-Announce-Prey-Now-Available.aspx) |
| Premise | A Native American protagonist, Tommy, is abducted by aliens and fights back aboard their ship[3](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/veteran-game-designer-scott-miller-explains-why-it-took-3d-realms-so-long-to-get-pc-gamings-most-ambitious-but-ultimately-flawed-sci-fi-fps-game-over-the-line-lets-just-put-all-our-eggs-into-the-duke-nukem-basket/) |
| Development span | About 11 years, from the 1995 3D Realms project to the 2006 release[3](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/veteran-game-designer-scott-miller-explains-why-it-took-3d-realms-so-long-to-get-pc-gamings-most-ambitious-but-ultimately-flawed-sci-fi-fps-game-over-the-line-lets-just-put-all-our-eggs-into-the-duke-nukem-basket/) |
| Reception | Metacritic 79 (PC) and 83 (Xbox 360); GameSpot scored it 7.5[5](https://www.gamespot.com/games/prey-2006/reviews/) |
## Gameplay
Prey departs from the standard first-person shooter format with four mechanics the publisher highlighted at launch: wall-walking, portals, spirit-walking, and gravity flipping.[2](https://www.cgw.com/Press-Center/News/2006/2K-and-3D-Realms-Announce-Prey-Now-Available.aspx) Portals connect distant parts of the alien ship, and gravity sections let the player walk on walls and ceilings or traverse inverted spaces.[6](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/198340-prey-2006/reviews/103498)
**Death without game over.** When Tommy dies he is transported to a spirit realm where he shoots flying spirits to regain health and his spirit-walk power, then returns to the living world; there is no game-over state.[7](https://www.gamespot.com/prey-2006/user-reviews/2200-25187/) Reviewers noted that this made the game easy to progress through, with one critic finishing it in around nine hours.[8](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/xbox360/928189-prey/reviews)
The final release restricted portal use to pre-set areas and scripted events rather than the free-form portal gun of the original design.[3](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/veteran-game-designer-scott-miller-explains-why-it-took-3d-realms-so-long-to-get-pc-gamings-most-ambitious-but-ultimately-flawed-sci-fi-fps-game-over-the-line-lets-just-put-all-our-eggs-into-the-duke-nukem-basket/)
## Development history
**The 3D Realms years.** The team behind [Rise of the Triad](https://www.edgepedia.org/rise-of-the-triad) began Prey as their next game at 3D Realms, and a 1998 E3 demo performed well; it included a portal gun that let the player create two linked portals and travel through them.[3](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/veteran-game-designer-scott-miller-explains-why-it-took-3d-realms-so-long-to-get-pc-gamings-most-ambitious-but-ultimately-flawed-sci-fi-fps-game-over-the-line-lets-just-put-all-our-eggs-into-the-duke-nukem-basket/) The team could not finish the engine supporting the portal technology, and the project was put on hold indefinitely in 1999.[3](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/veteran-game-designer-scott-miller-explains-why-it-took-3d-realms-so-long-to-get-pc-gamings-most-ambitious-but-ultimately-flawed-sci-fi-fps-game-over-the-line-lets-just-put-all-our-eggs-into-the-duke-nukem-basket/) • [9](https://www.gamespot.com/prey-2006/user-reviews/2200-585773/) Publisher GT Interactive had put $900,000 into the game, which 3D Realms paid back when shelving it.[3](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/veteran-game-designer-scott-miller-explains-why-it-took-3d-realms-so-long-to-get-pc-gamings-most-ambitious-but-ultimately-flawed-sci-fi-fps-game-over-the-line-lets-just-put-all-our-eggs-into-the-duke-nukem-basket/) The Xbox 360 manual dedicates the game to William Scarboro (1971 to 2002), programmer of the original portal engine.[10](https://nxeassets.xbox.com/shaxam/0201/21/3a/213a78dd-eeef-42f8-979a-c8a2158160da.PDF?v=1)
**The Human Head revival.** In May 2001, 3D Realms, Take-Two, and Human Head signed a publishing agreement under which Human Head would develop the game and Take-Two would fund it.[11](https://duke4ever.altervista.org/prey/) Development at Human Head, led by project leader Chris Rhinehart, ran from late 2001, and the game was officially announced on April 26, 2005 with 2K Games publishing for a 2006 release.[12](https://www.matero.net/games/prey/history.htm) 3D Realms specified that the revived design keep the space-bending portal technology and the Native American protagonist and cultural elements of the original story.[13](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-06-prey-exclusive-look-the-last-days-of-development/1100-6149389/) Scott Miller of 3D Realms worked with the studio daily during this period.[3](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/veteran-game-designer-scott-miller-explains-why-it-took-3d-realms-so-long-to-get-pc-gamings-most-ambitious-but-ultimately-flawed-sci-fi-fps-game-over-the-line-lets-just-put-all-our-eggs-into-the-duke-nukem-basket/)
**A constrained finish.** According to Miller, the publisher [Take-Two Interactive](https://www.edgepedia.org/take-two-interactive) required the game to be released earlier than expected and pulled funding toward the end of development, with 3D Realms stepping in to keep the project going; this schedule pressure is why the original scope of the portal gameplay could not be delivered.[3](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/veteran-game-designer-scott-miller-explains-why-it-took-3d-realms-so-long-to-get-pc-gamings-most-ambitious-but-ultimately-flawed-sci-fi-fps-game-over-the-line-lets-just-put-all-our-eggs-into-the-duke-nukem-basket/) The Xbox 360 version was handled by Venom Games.[14](https://media.gdcvault.com/GD_Mag_Archives/GDM_November_2006.pdf) Aspyr Media announced a Mac port on November 29, 2006, with an anticipated release in January 2007.[4](https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Prey)
## Reception
Prey received generally favorable reviews. The PC version holds a Metacritic score of 79 based on 80 critic reviews, and the Xbox 360 version 83 based on 51 critics; GameSpot's Jeff Gerstmann scored it 7.5, calling it good.[5](https://www.gamespot.com/games/prey-2006/reviews/) • [15](https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/prey-2006) [Individual](https://www.edgepedia.org/individual) outlet scores included 95 from [Game Informer](https://www.edgepedia.org/game-informer), 90 from IGN, and 87 percent from [PC Gamer](https://www.edgepedia.org/pc-gamer) magazine; Edge gave the Xbox 360 version 80.[8](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/xbox360/928189-prey/reviews) • [3](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/veteran-game-designer-scott-miller-explains-why-it-took-3d-realms-so-long-to-get-pc-gamings-most-ambitious-but-ultimately-flawed-sci-fi-fps-game-over-the-line-lets-just-put-all-our-eggs-into-the-duke-nukem-basket/) Reviewers praised the imaginative level design and story delivery while criticizing the game's linearity and short length.[16](https://www.metacritic.com/game/prey-2006/critic-reviews/?platform=pc&sort-by=date) • [6](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/198340-prey-2006/reviews/103498)
## Legacy and availability
Valve's [Portal](https://www.edgepedia.org/portal-video-game), which popularized free-form portal gameplay, reached stores in October 2007, one year after Prey; Miller has said his biggest regret is that the original portal gun from the 1998 E3 demo never made it into the shipped game.[3](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/veteran-game-designer-scott-miller-explains-why-it-took-3d-realms-so-long-to-get-pc-gamings-most-ambitious-but-ultimately-flawed-sci-fi-fps-game-over-the-line-lets-just-put-all-our-eggs-into-the-duke-nukem-basket/) [Arkane Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/arkane-studios)' unrelated 2017 game took the Prey name while sharing nothing else with the 2006 title.[17](https://time.com/4620695/most-anticipated-video-games-2017/) As of 2025, the 2006 Prey is not available for purchase on any digital game store and no remaster has been released.[3](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/veteran-game-designer-scott-miller-explains-why-it-took-3d-realms-so-long-to-get-pc-gamings-most-ambitious-but-ultimately-flawed-sci-fi-fps-game-over-the-line-lets-just-put-all-our-eggs-into-the-duke-nukem-basket/)
## References
1. [Prey Releases, MobyGames](https://www.mobygames.com/game/23082/prey/releases/)
2. [2K and 3D Realms Announce Prey Now Available, Computer Graphics World](https://www.cgw.com/Press-Center/News/2006/2K-and-3D-Realms-Announce-Prey-Now-Available.aspx)
3. [Veteran game developer Scott Miller explains why it took 3D Realms so long to get Prey over the line, PC Gamer](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/veteran-game-designer-scott-miller-explains-why-it-took-3d-realms-so-long-to-get-pc-gamings-most-ambitious-but-ultimately-flawed-sci-fi-fps-game-over-the-line-lets-just-put-all-our-eggs-into-the-duke-nukem-basket/)
4. [Prey, StrategyWiki](https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Prey)
5. [Prey (2006) Reviews, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/games/prey-2006/reviews/)
6. [Prey (2006) Review for PC, GameFAQs](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/198340-prey-2006/reviews/103498)
7. [desertspartan's Review of Prey (Collector's Edition), GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/prey-2006/user-reviews/2200-25187/)
8. [Prey Reviews for Xbox 360, GameFAQs](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/xbox360/928189-prey/reviews)
9. [ethereal-hell's Review of Prey (2006), GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/prey-2006/user-reviews/2200-585773/)
10. [Prey Xbox 360 manual](https://nxeassets.xbox.com/shaxam/0201/21/3a/213a78dd-eeef-42f8-979a-c8a2158160da.PDF?v=1)
11. [Prey Museum](https://duke4ever.altervista.org/prey/)
12. [The History of Prey](https://www.matero.net/games/prey/history.htm)
13. [E3 06: Prey Exclusive Look - The Last Days of Development, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-06-prey-exclusive-look-the-last-days-of-development/1100-6149389/)
14. [Game Developer, November 2006](https://media.gdcvault.com/GD_Mag_Archives/GDM_November_2006.pdf)
15. [Prey (2006) Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/prey-2006)
16. [Prey (2006) critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/game/prey-2006/critic-reviews/?platform=pc&sort-by=date)
17. [TIME's 50 Most Anticipated Video Games of 2017](https://time.com/4620695/most-anticipated-video-games-2017/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Video games and digital play › Games and gameplay › Game genres › Shooter games › First-person shooters*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license