Hellraiser Revival Dev Diary Signals A Graphic, Uncompromising Horror Game

Hellraiser: Revival moved into clearer focus this week after Saber Interactive and Boss Team Games released a new developer diary outlining the tone, themes, and intent behind the upcoming horror game. The seven-minute video, revealed during the 2025 Horror Game Awards, makes little effort to soften expectations. The studio describes a project rooted in adult material, psychological discomfort, and graphic imagery, positioning the game firmly away from mainstream horror sensibilities.

The diary features Doug Bradley, returning as Pinhead for the first time in nearly two decades. Bradley’s involvement has been central to the project since its announcement in July, and the diary reinforces his role as more than a voice cameo. Reflecting on the moment he learned a Hellraiser game was finally in development, Bradley said his reaction was immediate and blunt.

“At last! What kept you?” — Doug Bradley

Saber and Boss Team Games frame Hellraiser: Revival as a direct engagement with Clive Barker’s original ideas rather than a loose adaptation. Art director Petra Nikolic describes the game’s content without qualification, stating it includes “a lot of sexually explicit stuff, and a lot of gore, and a lot of violence.” The developers make clear the footage shown is not toned down for promotional purposes and reflects the material players should expect in the final release.

Game director Emil Esov reinforces that warning, advising viewers and players who are uncomfortable with adult themes to approach carefully.

“Anyone sensitive to mature themes should be wary.” — Emil Esov

Esov describes Hellraiser: Revival as a dark character-driven story focused on internal emptiness rather than simple shock value. He frames the experience as psychological horror filtered through physical extremes, calling it “a discomforting and dark story about people with inner voids,” blending violence and action with imagery defined by “leather, flesh, and chains.” The developers repeatedly stress that unease, rather than spectacle alone, is the intended emotional response.

The diary also touches on the team’s collaboration with Clive Barker, who has been actively involved in shaping the game’s direction. According to the developers, Barker was clear that the studio needed to understand the “soul” of Hellraiser before attempting to expand it into an interactive format. That guidance appears to have influenced both narrative tone and visual design, with the team emphasizing restraint in structure but not in subject matter.

Hellraiser: Revival is billed as the first true Hellraiser game, a distinction Barker himself has used. While Pinhead has appeared in other titles, most notably Dead by Daylight, this project is the first built entirely around the mythos as a standalone experience. The game is a single-player survival horror action title, designed to balance combat, exploration, and narrative progression.

The story centers on Aidan, a man searching for his girlfriend Sunny after she is taken into Hell. His journey hinges on the Genesis Configuration, the infamous puzzle box that grants power at an extreme cost. The game’s official description outlines encounters with cultists devoted to Pinhead and the Cenobites, alongside grotesque creatures tied to Hellraiser’s version of damnation. Players are promised a range of weapons described as both cruel and perversely playful, reflecting the franchise’s fixation on pleasure and pain as inseparable forces.

The July announcement also confirmed additional casting details. Aidan is voiced by Xalavier Nelson Jr., known for his work as both a writer and developer. Addressing the role at the time, Nelson Jr. echoed the franchise’s tone rather than softening it.

“Believe me when I say: They have such sights to show you.” — Xalavier Nelson Jr.

Clive Barker himself has spoken publicly about the project’s ambition and fidelity to his work. He praised Saber and Boss Team Games for immersing themselves fully in the source material, framing the game as an extension of Hellraiser’s core themes rather than a reinterpretation.

“Working on the first true Hellraiser game has been a venture deep into the recesses of my darkest imaginings.” — Clive Barker

Barker added that the narrative invites players to cross a threshold into a space where suffering, attraction, and transformation coexist, describing a story balanced between nightmare and revelation.

From the publisher side, Saber Interactive leadership has emphasized Hellraiser’s suitability for the medium. Saber head Matthew Karch has described the franchise as ideal for interactive horror, pointing to the studio’s previous experience with licensed horror properties and its focus on tense, deliberate gameplay.

Hellraiser: Revival currently has no release date. It is confirmed for PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S, and is available to wishlist on digital storefronts. Based on the developer diary, the team appears uninterested in broad accessibility or dilution of content. The message is consistent throughout: this is a Hellraiser game built without compromise, aimed squarely at players willing to engage with its explicit themes and unsettling tone.