''BloodRayne'' is a

media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program, o ...

that originated with an

action-adventure An action-adventure game is a video game genre, video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Definition An action adventure game can be defined as a game with a mix of elements f ...

video game series originally developed by

Terminal Reality Terminal Reality is an American video game development and Video game producer, production company based in Lewisville, Texas. Founded in October 1994 by ex-Microsoft employee Mark Randel and former Mallard Software general manager Brett Combs, ...

and published by Majesco Entertainment which began with the game of the same name in 2002. The franchise focuses on Rayne, a

dhampir In Balkan folklore, a dhampir () is a mythical creature that is the result of a union between a vampire and a human. This union was usually between male vampires and female humans, with stories of female vampires mating with male humans being rar ...

working for the Brimstone Society, a secret fraternity of individuals who works to protect humanity from supernatural threats. Additional media has been developed for the franchise in the form of

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

s and

comic a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicat ...

Titles

Games

*'' BloodRayne'' (2002) : set in 1933 and 1938, just before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. As an agent of the Brimstone Society, Rayne is sent to a variety of locations like a small swamp town in Louisiana, a Nazi fortress in Argentina, or an ancient castle in Germany, to battle supernatural creatures as well as the Nazi army. ** In 2020, a remastered version of the game was released on PC under the title ''BloodRayne: Terminal Cut'', and the following year on consoles as ''BloodRayne: ReVamped''. *'' BloodRayne 2'' (2004) : The game's plot features Rayne confronting her father vampire, Kagan. Rayne's half-siblings have banded together to form a group called the Cult of Kagan, who have pledged to create a new era of vampire supremacy. ** In 2020, a remastered version of the game was released on PC under the title ''BloodRayne 2: Terminal Cut'', and the following year on consoles as ''BloodRayne 2: ReVamped''. *'' BloodRayne: Betrayal'' (2011) : A downloadable sidescrolling game. ** An enhanced version was released in 2021 under the title ''BloodRayne: Betrayal - Fresh Bites''.

Cancelled games

A fourth game, titled ''BloodRayne: The Shroud'', was in development for the

Nintendo 3DS The is a foldable dual-screen handheld game console produced by Nintendo. Announced in March 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS, the console was released originally on February 26, 2011 and went through various revisions in its lifetime, ...

. The game was put "on hold" due to ''Betrayal''s low sales. An original entry for the

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PA ...

was also in development, but cancelled in late 2005 due to Majesco's financial issues at the time.

Future

In summer 2020, Ziggurat Interactive bought the rights to the ''BloodRayne'' franchise and other titles from Majesco and intends to revive the series with Terminal Reality.

Common elements

Rayne

Rayne, sometimes called Agent BloodRayne, is a fictional character in the series. She is the series' titular protagonist, appearing in both games and later extended media, such as comic books and films related to the series. In English, she is voiced by

Laura Bailey Laura Bailey (born May 28, 1981) is an American voice actress. She made her voice acting debut as Trunks (Dragon Ball), Kid Trunks in the Funimation dub of ''Dragon Ball Z'' and has since voiced List of Gunslinger Girl characters#First Generati ...

in '' BloodRayne'' and '' BloodRayne 2'' and Jessie Seely in '' BloodRayne: Betrayal''. Rayne is a human vampire hybrid called a

, born 1915. Her human mother was raped by her vampire father, Kagan. Kagan later murdered her mother's entire family so that the only family member Rayne could turn to was him. Recognizing her dhampir nature as well as her skills at hunting vampires, she was recruited into the mysterious Brimstone Society via an invitation. The Brimstone Society sent her on missions to eliminate supernatural threats to the world, including those involving vampires as well as demons and unnatural

apex predator An apex predator, also known as a top predator or superpredator, is a predator at the top of a food chain, without natural predators of its own. Apex predators are usually defined in terms of trophic dynamics, meaning that they occupy the hig ...

Other media

Films adaptations

was released on January 6, 2006, directed by

Uwe Boll Uwe Boll (; born 22 June 1965) is a German filmmaker. He came to prominence during the 2000s for his adaptations of video game franchises. Released theatrically, the films were critical and commercial failures; his Alone in the Dark (2005 film), ...

and starring Kristanna Loken as Rayne and

Ben Kingsley Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ben Kingsley, various accolades throughout Ben Kingsley on screen and stage, his career spanning fi ...

as Kagan. The film is set in the 1800s and follows Rayne's quest to stop her father Kagan's nefarious schemes to slaughter mankind. Boll had previously directed other video-game-to-movie adaptations including '' House of the Dead'' and ''

Alone in the Dark ''Alone in the Dark'' is a survival horror video game series originally developed by Infogrames. In most of the games, the player controls private investigator Edward Carnby, who goes to investigate a haunted house or town that is full of undea ...

''. The film was followed by two direct-to-DVD sequels starring Natassia Malthe; 2007's '' BloodRayne 2: Deliverance'' and 2011's '' BloodRayne: The Third Reich''. In addition, Boll directed the

parody film A parody film or spoof film is a subgenre of comedy film that lampoons other film genres or films as pastiches, works created by imitation of the style of many different films reassembled together. Although the subgenre is often overlooked by cri ...

, '' Blubberella'', which was also released in 2011.

Comics

Several ''BloodRayne'' comic books have been published by Digital Webbing. In addition, Rayne was the first video game character to appear topless in

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

."BloodRayne, others confirmed for Playboy spread" By Benjamin Golze on August 27, 2004

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

References

External links

* {{Bloodrayne Video games featuring female protagonists Video games adapted into films Video games adapted into comics Video game franchises introduced in 2002