Seamus Blackley, the designer credited with creating the original Xbox, says a new Jurassic World project initially started as a video game concept developed with Steven Spielberg and Universal in 2012.
According to Blackley, he was invited to collaborate on a new game in the Jurassic Park franchise. He says he wrote a story, helped develop design elements and even produced a trailer for what the team called Jurassic World.
From Trespasser roots to a new game proposal
Blackley noted the discussion began when Universal reached out about rebooting the franchise and suggested relaunching it alongside a new Trespasser title. Jurassic Park: Trespasser, originally released for PC in 1998, was developed by Blackley and set its events after the 1997 film The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
After initial talks with Universal, Blackley met Kathleen Kennedy, co-founder of Amblin Entertainment. He says Kennedy told him he could write the script and produce a trailer for a potential Jurassic World game, with plans to present the results to Spielberg and Universal’s co-presidents.
Story and design focus
Blackley describes the narrative he wrote as taking place on Isla Sorna and exploring how humans had to come to terms with the island’s original inhabitants. He argued the public wanted to know the dinosaurs rather than simply hunt them, writing that they were not monsters but “earthlings.”
He says that, with coders and artists, the team worked on game design and art direction under the Jurassic World name.
Project shifted into a film
Blackley says the initiative stalled after a leadership change at Universal altered internal plans. The idea that had been pursued as a game was ultimately realized as a feature film instead.
The Jurassic World film series began in 2015 and was followed by two sequels: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom in 2018 and Jurassic World Dominion in 2023. Together, the three films grossed more than $3 billion at the box office.
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