What Revival is, in franchise terms
Saber's own store copy calls Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival a new chapter in the legendary horror series, and the story it tells, Aidan Lynch, Sunny and the Genesis Configuration, is new to the canon. It is not a remake of the 1987 film, not a retelling of any existing story, and not a game adaptation of a specific movie.
That matters because Hellraiser has been through a lot of formats. The franchise began with the 1987 film written and directed by Clive Barker, and it has been continued in novels, comics and film sequels since. Revival adds to it rather than resetting it, and it brings its own puzzle box rather than reusing the Lament Configuration's rules.
⚠️ Partial. Clive Barker's involvement in Revival is reported by media previews, which say he advised on the game's conception and collaborated on the story. No first-party page we can read states it, so we keep it labelled.
Earlier Hellraiser games
Hellraiser has been licensed into games before, most of them in eras when licensed horror games were common and rarely good. The two that players still bring up are:
| Game | Year | Why it comes up |
|---|---|---|
| Clive Barker's Undying | 2001 | The one with a real reputation; players still ask for a remaster |
| Clive Barker's Jericho | 2007 | Often cited as the last notable Hellraiser-branded game |
Both years come from community encyclopedias and from player threads in the current game's forum, where a remaster request for Jericho and praise for Undying both appear. We have not verified either from a first-party page, which is why this section is labelled partial.
Neither is connected to Revival's story, and Saber has not said anything about remastering either.
The Dead by Daylight question
Search data around this game includes a steady stream of questions about Hellraiser content in Dead by Daylight, the asymmetric horror game by Behaviour Interactive. Players ask whether the Hellraiser chapter will come back.
The honest answer from this wiki: no return has been announced, and Behaviour Interactive's licensing is not something we track here. If you are looking for that answer specifically, the official Dead by Daylight channels are the source, not a Hellraiser wiki.
⚠️ Unconfirmed. We are deliberately not repeating the dates, reasons or terms of the crossover's current status. Those are widely discussed in the community, but we have not verified them from a first-party page, and repeating unverified licensing claims is how wikis lose credibility.
Why this game is different
Three things separate Revival from the license's track record, and all three are first-party:
- A named game director with a byline. Emil Esov wrote the PlayStation Blog developer diary and describes over four years of development.
- A first-party story description. The premise, the three factions and the puzzle box are all described in Saber's own words, not in a press summary.
- A real rating, not a softened one. Mature 17+ with six descriptors including nudity and strong sexual content. See Content Warnings.
For the story itself see Story, the cast on Characters, and the box on Genesis Configuration.
FAQ
Is Revival a remake of the 1987 film?
No. It is a new story with new characters, and Saber says so directly.
Do I need to have seen the films?
Nothing official says so, and the dev diary explains the Cenobites, the Labyrinth and Leviathan from scratch for newcomers.
Is Clive Barker writing it?
Media previews report that he advised on the concept and collaborated on the story. That stays labelled partial until a first-party page confirms it.
Will older Hellraiser games get remastered?
Nothing has been announced. The request comes up in the community forum, not in any official channel.