Stars of Blood was cancelled before it had even been publicly mentioned. Valve's Gabe Newell nonchalantly alluded to it in a 2012 Q&A, and given the lack of information, it failed to capture the gaming community's imagination in a way that other canned projects have. That has all changed today, however, as Twitter account Obscure Game Aesthetics came across an archive full of eyecatching concept art.
The archives are public, so you can check them out for yourself. What we see is absolutely fascinating - with unique character designs, completely original creatures that roam the planets, and intricately detailed space crafts all created for the unfinished project. Whatever it was for, this was clearly a world that a lot of creatives put a great deal of effort into crafting.
The art we see is incredibly varied. Some are almost retro-futuristic in nature, even crossing over into fantasy. Whereas other pieces come across as more dystopian, as we more often see in contemporary sci-fi. It appears that the world of Stars of Blood would have been full of different human cultures, as the character designs can be wildly different, particularly in terms of clothing. The settlements are all unique from one another too, as some are the grand, grey spaceports you'd see in Star Wars, and others seem built upon sand and rock. There's even a medieval castle in one image, juxtaposed with a starship flying over it.
The Obscure Game Aesethics account also highlights that Stars of Blood may have been related to a test demo uploaded to YouTube in 2012. It was shared by ex-Valve developer Gray Horsfield, and definitely fits the sci-fi and fantasy hybrid vibe of the art we've seen.
There's plenty of images to check out for yourself on the website, but below are some of our picks. As you can see from the fashion and the environments, Stars of Blood would have been a glorious universe to explore. Who knows, maybe Valve will dust it off if it decides to make video games again?