Ori creator Thomas Mahler has responded to the recent Ori 3 rumours, saying he has not heard anything about a new entry despite growing speculation that another game is in development.
Mahler, co-founder of Moon Studios and director of the original Ori games, addressed the rumours on social media after fans began asking him about reports of a new Ori project.
“Once again there’s a bunch of people asking me about Ori 3 since there’s rumors floating about… As before, I haven’t heard anything about any of this,” Mahler said.
His comments come shortly after industry insider NateTheHate claimed that a new Ori game was the project he had previously been referring to in connection with a potential Xbox announcement. NateTheHate has not confirmed whether the game will appear at Gamescom, however.
“I think after having put billions into 343 to handle Halo and not being able to recapture the old magic, I’d guess that by now MS has learned their lesson that the right talent needs to work on those IP’s, otherwise you’ll undoubtedly get more slop,” Mahler added.
Despite denying knowledge of the reported project, Mahler revealed that Moon Studios has discussed the possibility of buying the Ori intellectual property back from Microsoft. “Internally, we’ve been discussing our interest in purchasing the IP back. I doubt any other studio could really do much with it, so it makes sense for this one to come home to Moon!” he said.
The conflicting reports leave the status of a potential Ori 3 unclear. While NateTheHate has suggested that a new Ori game exists, Mahler says he has not heard about such a project. There is also no official announcement from Microsoft or another developer at this point.
Moon Studios developed Ori and the Blind Forest in 2015 and Ori and the Will of the Wisps in 2020. The studio is currently working on No Rest for the Wicked, while the Ori franchise remains under Microsoft’s ownership.
