B.C.

Story and setting

B.C. was set at the beginning of human evolution, in a deliberately altered prehistory where early humans shared the world with dinosaurs and other extinct creatures. The player would guide a growing tribe from primitive survival towards a more advanced society, with the journey progressing through several large regions and ultimately towards the mountains and a safer destination.

There was both a clear objective and room for emergent events. The tribe had to find food and water, establish safe camps, learn new skills and deal with rival simians, an intelligent ape-like species described as the tribe’s main enemy. The setting was not intended to be a historically accurate reconstruction: dinosaurs, early humans and anachronistic technologies were part of the game’s premise.

How it plays

The developers described B.C. as a third-person action-adventure with a simulated world, missions, exploration and tribe management. You would control individual members of the tribe in the field while also deciding how the wider community developed. Characters could gain experience, rise through ranks and specialise in roles such as hunters, fighters, mystics and chemists.

Survival was meant to depend on the environment as much as direct combat. Rocks, branches, plants and other natural objects could be used as weapons or combined into better equipment. Fire could spread through vegetation, animals followed predator-and-prey behaviours, and the tribe could manipulate the surroundings by blocking water sources, forcing creatures to migrate or exploiting terrain. A day-and-night cycle, changing climates and regions including forests, deserts, tundra and mountains were also planned.

The Xbox material presented B.C. as an action-adventure rather than a conventional menu-driven role-playing game. It included progression systems and character development, but the main attraction was the interaction between the tribe, the landscape and the simulated wildlife.

Trailers and showcases

B.C. was first shown at Microsoft’s X01 Europe event in France in 2001, where it was presented as an Xbox-exclusive project alongside Project Ego, the game that became Fable. An E3 2002 demonstration was still some way from a finished hands-on build, but it established the project’s emphasis on simulation and prehistoric survival.

IGN’s E3 2003 update, published on 15 May 2003, outlined six large areas, a tribe that had to learn skills such as making fire and building shelter, and an ecosystem containing more than 20 creatures. It also described simians as intelligent rivals and explained how players could alter animal populations and habitats. The official trailer released on 2 February 2004 showed broad natural environments and exceptionally graphic combat, while the archived Xbox page dated 4 June 2004 highlighted the third-person viewpoint, tribe development and varied prehistoric regions.

A May 2004 developer FAQ promised another B.C. showing around E3 2004, but the surviving material does not provide a reliable account of exactly what was shown there. It is therefore safer to treat the E3 2003 material and the February 2004 trailer as the clearest record of the planned game.

Why B.C. was cancelled

Development was suspended in October 2004 after roughly three years of work. Contemporary reports quoted Peter Molyneux saying that Lionhead hoped to revive the project and move as many members of the team as possible to other games. No definitive official reason for the suspension was published, so claims that it was cancelled for one specific technical, financial or creative reason should be treated as unconfirmed.

A separate multiplayer sequel was discussed in 2004, with Xbox Live mentioned as a possible feature for that follow-up. That was never released either and does not mean the original B.C. had an online mode. The original project remained a single-player concept throughout its public development.

UK release, price and availability

There is no UK release date, RRP, edition, retailer listing or pre-order for B.C. The archived Xbox page once listed a provisional 2005 street date and a rating pending, but that information was overtaken by the project’s suspension and never became a real release. No PEGI rating was awarded, and there is no Game Pass or PS Plus version.

For UK readers, the practical answer is simple: B.C. cannot be bought or played as an officially released game on Xbox, PC or another modern platform. Any footage, screenshots or prototype discussion relates to development material rather than a finished product.