A potential sequel to the beloved RPG Planescape: Torment, tentatively titled Planescape: Unraveled, was pitched to Wizards of the Coast but ultimately shelved due to a lack of funding.
Beamdog CEO Trent Oster, alongside former BioWare writer David Gaider, developed a vision for the follow-up and presented it to Wizards of the Coast. According to Oster, the meetings with Wizards' creative team, including Chris Perkins and Mike Mearls, were highly encouraging. "We actually had some great meetings with their creative team," Oster stated. "We were down talking with Chris Perkins and Mike Mearls about it, and they were really into what we were doing. We were talking about how we could tie it in with a source book and everything. It was an exciting concept."
However, Wizards of the Coast indicated they were not in a position to fund external development at the time. Oster explained that the company has historically cycled through different approaches to development and licensing. "When we pitched it to Wizards, they were like, 'We don't have money for external development, we're not doing that right now.' Over time, Wizards has kind of gone through these cycles where they’re like, 'Oh, we'll do all the internal development.' And then, 'Oh my God, internal development's so expensive, we'll just licence it all out. We'll let partners take all the risk.' [And then] 'Hey, wait, these guys made a ton of money, let's bring it internal again.'"
Following Wizards of the Coast's refusal to fund the project, Oster and Gaider sought investment elsewhere, but without success. "We searched around for funding, and nobody would fund it," Oster said. "Everybody we pitched at that time was like, 'Well, why would we spend our money making their IP worth more money?'"
Gaider echoed this sentiment last year, noting that "Whatever the problem, we couldn't sell it... and by the end of 2016, we had to put Planescape: Unraveled on the shelf and start something new. Which killed me, and I almost moved on right then."
Planescape: Torment, despite being considered a commercial disappointment at its release, eventually proved profitable and has remained a highly regarded RPG. Its unique setting and narrative have led to continued interest in a sequel. A modern iteration, potentially with an improved combat system and greater tabletop roleplaying integration, could have offered a significant new entry in the genre. While Planescape: Unraveled did not come to fruition, Torment: Tides of Numenera serves as a spiritual successor, and other RPGs like Disco Elysium and Esoteric Ebb are noted for sharing thematic or gameplay similarities with Planescape: Torment.