Meet the team behind “Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival”

EMIL ESOV

GAME DIRECTOR

I joined the MHG about 12 years ago. I immediately knew that I wanted to be a game director – and here I am now, doing exactly that, on the Hellraiser project!

When we first found out we’d be taking on this project, it struck me like a blast from the past. The sense of nostalgia really hit me hard, reminding me why these stories stick with us long after the screen goes dark.

If this game can bring new energy to the franchise, then we’ve done something right. What I’m really aiming for is for fans to truly see and feel the story we’re telling. Sure, the gameplay needs to be fun – that’s a given – but more importantly, we want players to connect with the narrative and immediately think “This is Hellraiser.”

NENAD TOMIĆ

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

For the first time in our studio’s history, we’re stepping into the world of original IP, and we’re doing it with a horror title that’s a true cultural phenomenon. This project marks a major milestone for us – building a game that demands atmosphere, tension, and psychological depth is a significant challenge. It’s a creative risk, but one we’ve embraced with everything we’ve got.

Being chosen to craft the very first video game in the Hellraiser universe is a tremendous honour. We set out to do justice to Hellraiser, honoring its legacy while expanding it in a way that stays true to the IP and works as a game. Our goal is to create an experience that feels authentic to longtime fans and compelling to players stepping into this world for the first time.

ALEKSANDRA PELIVANOVIĆ

ASSISTANT GAME DIRECTOR

As someone who’s always loved horror, and as a fan of the franchise, getting the chance to work on Hellraiser felt surreal—a rare opportunity to contribute to an IP with such weight and legacy. From the moment I joined the project, I dug deep into the lore, studied the characters, and revisited the films to understand what makes this world so powerful.

What struck me most wasn’t just the iconic gore (though one of the scenes ranks among the goriest I’ve ever seen), but the psychological depth beneath it. Hellraiser goes beyond jump scares and buckets of blood, delving into something far deeper; it’s about exploring the extremes of human desire, pain, and fear. That’s what sets it apart, and being able to help shape that experience for players felt like a genuine privilege.

ANTONY DE FAULT

NARRATIVE DIRECTOR

To be totally honest, I wasn’t very familiar with Hellraiser when I first came onboard. But I had played and enjoyed Mad Head Games’ previous title, Scars Above, and I saw real potential for the team to evolve into something notable within the action game scene. So I did my research and found the beating heart I could love inside the franchise (which wasn’t hard!). For the lifelong Hellraiser fans on our team, joining forces with Clive Barker and Doug Bradley was a career milestone that rarely comes around. It’s been an opportunity to collaborate with creators who shaped your formative years, to stand alongside them, and to contribute to this world together.

So every time I wrote a line or nudged a scene in a new direction, I had this creative litmus test from the team’s deep knowledge. They kept everything sharp, rooted, and real. The goal was to honor the franchise while evolving it with authenticity. And that’s the creative space where I do my best work, I think.

DAVID VESOVIĆ

LEAD PROJECT MANAGER

I remember catching Hellraiser for the first time as a kid. I was already knee-deep into horror, and even then, it hit differently. Of course, back then, I was too young to fully clock the deeper psychological themes woven through the narrative. I was just there for the chills. But looking back now, it’s clear that this film was operating on a whole other level. There was this quiet dread that made everything feel more intense, more real.

So when the opportunity came up to help shape a game in the Hellraiser universe, my reaction was immediate: hell yes, let’s do this! Making a horror game was only part of it, this was about stepping into a world that had haunted my imagination for years. I knew right away we had the opportunity to build something with real emotional depth, a story that would stay with players long after they finish the game.

DUŠKO BALATINAC

LEAD ANIMATOR

Five years ago, I left Mad Head Games to chase new challenges. But what pulled me back wasn’t nostalgia, it was the spark of creativity here, and the trust that fuels it. Coming back meant bringing everything I’d learned to a place where I knew I could make an impact.

And then – boom – the first IP project MHG had ever taken on. No warm-up. No safety net. The kind of challenge that makes your pulse spike because you know, it’s step up or step aside. People have been trying to crack this nut since the 90s, but no one nailed it. Now it was in our hands, four decades of legacy and the responsibility to do it justice in a game. That was massive!

We used the movies as our compass, not as something to imitate. The result? A fiercely authentic world, yet unmistakably its own beast. It’s something our team can be proud of, and a bold new chapter in the Hellraiser legacy. Here’s hoping the fans feel the same.

KRISTIJAN GRUJIĆ

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

I still remember the exact moment we got the green light to work on a game set in the Hellraiser universe. It isn’t like working on any IP. As developers, we always want to make something great. But with Hellraiser, there is a responsibility. Hellraiser is layered, disturbing, and beautiful in its brutality. It doesn’t just tell stories, it unfolds obsessions.

I knew it had a big fanbase through forums, a lot of the fans who practically live in that lore. The fans of Hellraiser aren’t casual players – they know their world. They’ll smell it a mile away if we fake it. The highest praise for me will be if the fans think we did the IP justice, then we’ve done our job.

PETRA NIKOLIĆ

ART DIRECTOR

What’s always fascinated me about the Hellraiser universe is the duality in every corner of it. It’s where gore and chains meet an elegance twisted into agony. One of the iconic quotes from the movie, “Angels to some, demons to others”, was our guiding star to achieving this duality in everything.

To me, that means Hellraiser’s world can be both beautiful and macabre, clean and cluttered, evil or good, depending on the beholder and their perception. It’s a world where beauty is pain, where order and chaos bleed into each other. That contrast – that tension – is where our game lives. And as a team, we’ve been obsessed with capturing that.

We’re carrying a legacy in our hands, not some forgotten IP that we can twist however we want. We also have the eyes of an entire fanbase on us, waiting to see if we get it. That’s why we’ve constantly turned to the films for inspiration as they are a masterclass in atmosphere. The team was inspired by the unforgettable moments like Frank’s resurrection, or the Cenobites’ entrance. They don’t just appear; they invade reality, and it feels like the rules of the world are shifting.

VID RAJIN

ASSISTANT GAME DIRECTOR

Working on Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival marked a tectonic shift in my career from casual to core games. I started out as an Enemy Game Designer and worked my way up to the role of an Assistant Game Director. Even though I came into it fresh, I could tell right away how much care had gone into building this universe from the start.

It’s a great honor being able to walk through the labyrinthine halls of the great Clive Barker’s imagination, adding a few more dark chambers to this twisted and fascinating world. I truly hope players and longtime fans will discover how much effort we’ve put to stay true to what made Hellraiser so unique in the first place.

STAY TUNED

WE HAVE SUCH SIGHTS TO SHOW YOU.

We’ve put our hearts (and maybe a few souls) into building a Hellraiser experience that feels true to the legacy, but bold enough to carve its own path. We’re proud of what we’re making, and if you’ve made it this far, you’re probably exactly the kind of twisted soul we made it for.

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Hell awaits.