Manhunter 3: London

Last updated: January 16, 2026

Overview

Manhunter 3: London is a cancelled post-apocalyptic adventure game that was planned as the third installment in the Manhunter series.¹ The game was to be designed by Barry Murry, Dave Murry, and Dee Dee Murry of Evryware and published by Sierra On-Line, continuing the story of the unnamed Manhunter protagonist as he tracks down the serial killer Phil Cook to London and attempts to drive the alien Orbs away from Earth.¹ The game’s existence was teased as early as 1989 through an in-game Easter egg in Manhunter 2: San Francisco, where a poster advertising “Manhunter 3: London” can be seen on the side of a tram at the Cable Car Barn.¹

The cancellation of Manhunter 3: London represents one of Sierra’s more notable unrealized projects, as the second game had ended on a dramatic cliffhanger that left fans eagerly anticipating the continuation of the story.² The series was originally conceived as a trilogy, with plans to potentially extend to a fourth game following the London chapter.¹ Despite never being officially released, interest in the cancelled project has persisted for decades, with periodic rumors of revival surfacing in the fan community.³

Game Info

Developer: Evryware¹ Designer: Barry Murry, Dave Murry, Dee Dee Murry² Publisher: Sierra On-Line¹ Engine: AGI (planned)⁴ Platforms: Not released Release Year: Cancelled Series: Manhunter Protagonist: The Manhunter / New Manhunter Sierra Lineage: Core Sierra

Story Summary

The planned story for Manhunter 3: London would have continued directly from the breathtaking cliffhanger finale of Manhunter 2: San Francisco, which left fans anxious to discover how the saga would conclude.² At the end of the second game, the protagonist was in pursuit of the psychotic serial killer Phil Cook, setting up a chase that would take them across the Atlantic to London.¹ The Orb Alliance’s grip on humanity was to be challenged once more as the Manhunter continued his dual mission of appearing to serve the alien invaders while secretly working to undermine their control.

In 2008, information emerged about the proposed story structure for Manhunter 3: London that would have represented a significant evolution in the series’ narrative approach.³ According to communications with Dave “Mike” Murry, the game was planned to feature a dual protagonist structure—players would spend the first half of the game controlling a brand new Manhunter character, experiencing the world of 2004 through fresh eyes.³ This design decision was intended to bring in new players who might not have experienced the previous games in the series.

The second half of the game would then transition to the familiar protagonist from the first two games, picking up his story as he arrived in London in pursuit of Phil Cook.³ This “coming full circle” approach would have allowed longtime fans to conclude the trilogy’s overarching narrative while simultaneously creating an entry point for newcomers.³ The Manhunter’s ultimate goal remained the liberation of Earth from Orb control, with London serving as the climactic battleground for humanity’s freedom.¹

Gameplay

Interface and Controls

The Manhunter series was revolutionary in its approach to adventure game interface design, and Manhunter 3: London was expected to continue these innovations.⁵ The first two games in the series used Sierra’s Adventure Game Interpreter (AGI) development tool but diverged significantly from other AGI games by not using a text parser.⁵ Instead, the games featured a rudimentary point-and-click interface that foreshadowed later games like Myst.⁵

The series was notable for incorporating a first-person perspective rather than the third-person view common in other Sierra adventures.⁵ This perspective, combined with the game’s unique interface, created a more immersive experience that drew players directly into the post-apocalyptic world ruled by the Orbs.⁵ The Manhunter games featured no live dialogues; much of the gameplay revolved around tracking individuals with the MAD (Manhunter Assignment Device) to unlock new places and addresses.⁵

Structure and Progression

Based on the series’ established formula, Manhunter 3: London would likely have followed a similar progression structure to its predecessors. The backstory and plot would remain vague and obscure, requiring players to piece together the movements of suspects and understand the narrative through observation rather than explicit exposition.⁵ The planned dual protagonist structure would have introduced a natural midpoint transition:

• First Half: Playing as a new Manhunter in London, learning the city and the state of the Orb occupation in Britain
• Second Half: Continuing as the original protagonist, tracking Phil Cook and working toward the series’ climax³

Puzzles and Mechanics

The previous Manhunter games featured a variety of puzzle types including tracking sequences using the MAD device, environmental puzzles, and action-based arcade sequences.⁶ The games were known for their sometimes cryptic puzzle solutions and challenging arcade segments that could result in gruesome death scenes.⁶ Players in the original games had to follow suspects through their daily movements, identify key locations, and gather evidence to progress the story.⁵

Reception

Contemporary Reviews

As Manhunter 3: London was never released, no contemporary reviews exist for the title itself. However, the context for its anticipated reception can be understood through the success of its predecessors.

Manhunter: New York was released in 1988 to overwhelmingly positive reviews and was voted “Adventure Game of the Year” by several computer gaming magazines.² The first game went on to sell well over 100,000 copies, establishing a dedicated fanbase for the series.² Manhunter 2: San Francisco followed in 1989 with sales roughly equaling those of the first game, and it is generally considered to be the better game of the two.²

Modern Assessment

The cancelled status of Manhunter 3: London has become a notable point of discussion in adventure gaming history, with fans and historians lamenting the incomplete trilogy.⁴ The Manhunter series as a whole is remembered for its gritty, sometimes gory visuals, unique interface, and use of real-life locations that set it apart from Sierra’s other, more family-oriented titles.⁵

The games’ innovative features, including bizarre camera angles, picture-in-picture views, long pans, extreme close-ups, overhead shots, and faux 3-D sequences, were years ahead of their time.² Modern retrospectives acknowledge the series’ influence on later point-and-click adventures while noting its sometimes punishing difficulty and obtuse puzzle design.⁶

Development

Origins

The Manhunter series was the brainchild of Barry Murry, Dave Murry, and Dee Dee Murry of Evryware Inc., a software company they had founded in 1979.² Barry and Dave had previously earned accolades for their groundbreaking games The Ancient Art of War (1984) and The Ancient Art of War at Sea (1987), both published by Brøderbund.² They had also created Sierra Championship Boxing in 1983, establishing a prior working relationship with Sierra.²

Around the time that The Ancient Art of War at Sea was released, Sierra contacted the Murrys to see if they would be interested in creating another game for them.² The Murrys decided that they wanted this new game to be different from any of the other adventure games for which Sierra was quickly becoming famous.² Their concept went through many different changes over the course of the design process, resulting in the unique style that would define the Manhunter series.²

Production

The development of Manhunter 3: London was derailed by circumstances involving the Murrys’ departure from Sierra. According to Ken Williams, Sierra’s co-founder, the Murrys had begun work on a new project called “Ancient Art of War” after completing the first two Manhunter games.⁴ Williams had planned for them to create Manhunter 3, but when they presented their idea for Ancient Art of War, it sounded compelling enough that he encouraged them to pursue it.⁴

Unfortunately, during development of Ancient Art of War, Brøderbund entered negotiations and convinced Dave and Barry to publish the game through them instead of Sierra.⁴ Ken Williams maintained a policy of never being the “high bidder” on any project, and as a result, the Murrys never returned to Sierra.⁴ This effectively ended any possibility of an official Manhunter 3: London being developed under Sierra’s banner.

An interesting side story shared by Ken Williams reveals some of the turbulent nature of game publishing at the time: Brøderbund’s initial box for Ancient Art of War featured a picture of an ancient vase with oriental writing that no one at the company could read. The writing turned out to be in Chinese (or Japanese) and was x-rated to those who could read it, forcing Brøderbund to recall all shipped copies of the game.⁴

Development Credits:²

• Designers: Barry Murry, Dave Murry, Dee Dee Murry
• Development Studio: Evryware Inc.
• Publisher: Sierra On-Line (planned)

Technical Achievements

The Manhunter series was the last to utilize Sierra’s AGI (Adventure Game Interpreter) engine, with Manhunter 2: San Francisco being the final AGI game produced by Sierra.⁴ The games pushed the engine to its limits with features that were revolutionary for their time, including first-person perspective gameplay, innovative camera techniques, and a parser-free pseudo-point-and-click interface.²

Had Manhunter 3: London been developed, it may have transitioned to Sierra’s newer SCI (Sierra Creative Interpreter) engine, which was being adopted for other Sierra titles during the early 1990s. However, the timing of the series’ development and subsequent cancellation means the technical specifications for the third game were never finalized.

Technical Specifications

No technical specifications exist for the cancelled Manhunter 3: London. For reference, the previous games in the series used the following:

Manhunter: New York / Manhunter 2: San Francisco:⁵

• Engine: AGI (Adventure Game Interpreter)
• Perspective: First-person
• Interface: Point-and-click (no text parser)
• Notable Features: Picture-in-picture, faux 3-D sequences

Version History

Version	Date	Platform	Notes
N/A	Cancelled	N/A	Development never completed1

AGI Interpreter Versions (Previous Games):⁴

Game	Interpreter	Notes
Manhunter: New York	AGI	Released 1988
Manhunter 2: San Francisco	AGI	Final AGI game, 1989

Revival Attempts

In 2008, significant news emerged regarding potential revival of the Manhunter series.³ According to a fan who had directly contacted Dave “Mike” Murry, the original developers were working on a Manhunter London game and attempting to polish a demo to pitch to publishers.³ The game would not necessarily be called “London” because after 20 years, the developers wanted to bring in new players rather than solely appealing to fans of the original series.³

The proposed dual protagonist structure—playing as a new Manhunter for the first half and then the original protagonist in the second half—was designed to serve this goal of accessibility while still providing closure for longtime fans.³ The administrator of the Manhunter shrine website confirmed being in contact with the developers about this revival project.³

Despite these promising developments reported in 2008, no further public announcements materialized, and the revival project appears to have remained in development limbo. The intellectual property for the Manhunter series is currently owned by Activision, which acquired Sierra’s back catalog.⁷

Easter Eggs and Trivia

The most famous Easter egg related to Manhunter 3: London appears in Manhunter 2: San Francisco itself:¹

• London Poster: Looking at the side of the tram at Cable Car Barn reveals posters advertising both “Manhunter: New York” and “Manhunter 3: London”—a tantalizing preview of the sequel that was never to be.¹

The Manhunter series as a whole contained numerous references to real-world locations in New York City and San Francisco, with the cancelled third game presumably planning to incorporate authentic London landmarks in similar fashion.⁵

Legacy

Sales and Commercial Impact

The Manhunter series achieved moderate commercial success, with both released games selling approximately 100,000 copies each.² While these numbers were respectable, they apparently did not reach the threshold required to guarantee continuation of the series, particularly after the departure of the Murrys from Sierra.⁴

The series’ commercial performance has been described as not successful enough to warrant sequels, though this assessment may oversimplify the complex circumstances involving the developers’ move to Brøderbund.⁴ The unique aesthetic and gameplay of the Manhunter games earned them a dedicated cult following that has kept interest in the series alive for decades.

Fan Projects

In addition to the original developers’ attempted revival, there have been occasional discussions within the adventure gaming community about fan-made continuations of the series.¹ The Manhunter Omnipedia, a dedicated fan wiki, documents the series’ lore and the cancelled third game.¹ Various shrines and fan sites have preserved information about the series and speculation about what Manhunter 3: London might have contained.³

A project titled “Manhunter 3: Ultimate Online Adventure” has been referenced in connection with potential fan-made continuations, though details remain limited.¹

Critical Perspective

The cancellation of Manhunter 3: London represents a significant “what if” moment in adventure gaming history. The series pioneered numerous interface and presentation techniques that would later become standard in the genre, including the transition away from text parsers toward more intuitive point-and-click interfaces.⁵ The games’ dark, mature themes stood in stark contrast to Sierra’s other, more family-friendly adventure series, demonstrating that the adventure game format could accommodate a wider range of tones and subject matter.⁵

The Manhunter series’ influence can be seen in later first-person adventure games and the eventual dominance of the point-and-click interface that replaced text parsers.⁵ While the third game was never completed, the series’ legacy endures through its technical innovations and its devoted fan community, who continue to hope that the Manhunter’s story might someday reach its intended conclusion in London.²

The intellectual property’s current ownership by Activision has led to periodic speculation about potential remakes or revivals, though no official announcements have been made.⁷ The story of Manhunter 3: London serves as a reminder of the precarious nature of game development and the many factors beyond simple sales figures that can determine whether a beloved series continues or ends prematurely.

Downloads

Related Resources

• The Manhunter series is currently owned by Activision⁷
• No official release of Manhunter 3: London exists

Previous Games in Series (Available)

• Manhunter: New York (1988) - ClassicReload⁵
• Manhunter 2: San Francisco (1989)

Fan Resources

• Manhunter History at Larry Laffer Dot Net²
• Manhunter Wiki¹
• Sierra Wiki⁷

Series Continuity

Manhunter 3: London was intended to conclude the story arc begun in Manhunter: New York (1988) and continued in Manhunter 2: San Francisco (1989).¹ The series follows an unnamed Manhunter who is initially pressed into service by the alien Orb Alliance, tracking down human resistance members while secretly working against the occupation. By the end of the second game, the protagonist is in pursuit of the serial killer Phil Cook, setting up the chase to London that would have formed the basis of the third game.¹

The Murrys had originally conceived the series as a trilogy, with potential for a fourth game following the London chapter.¹ The dual protagonist structure planned for Manhunter 3: London would have allowed the series to both welcome new players and provide satisfying closure for fans who had followed the story from New York through San Francisco.³ The series’ continuity remains incomplete, with the Manhunter’s ultimate fate and the resolution of humanity’s conflict with the Orbs forever unresolved.

• Previous: 1989 - Manhunter 2 - San Francisco

References

Footnotes

1. Manhunter Wiki – Manhunter 3: London – cancelled game information, Easter egg details, planned story elements ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸

2. Larry Laffer Dot Net – Manhunter History – development history, Murry biographies, sales figures, series innovations ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸

3. AGD Interactive Forums – Manhunter 3: London coming soon – 2008 revival information, dual protagonist structure, developer contact ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³

4. Sierra Gamers Forums – Why was there never a third game? – Ken Williams explanation, AGI engine details, Ancient Art of War story ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹

5. ClassicReload – Manhunter: New York – gameplay description, interface details, AGI engine information ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵

6. Just Games Retro – Manhunter 2: San Francisco – gameplay analysis, series critique, story continuation ↩ ↩² ↩³

7. Sierra Wiki – Manhunter – series overview, current IP ownership, game list ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴