Nightdive Studios is working to bring back an enhanced version of the 1997 Blade Runner adventure game to PC (via Steam), Xbox One, PS4, and the Nintendo Switch later this year.
Originally developed by Westwood Studios (of Command and Conquer fame), the 1997 Blade Runner game tells a story set in the same cinematic universe, but with different characters. While the main character for the video game is a rookie Blade Runner named Ray McCoy, the events of the game take place at the same time as the 1982 Ridley Scott film.
Some events in the game even intersect with the movie, making the two companions of sorts. Actors from the original film like Sean Young reprised their roles in the video game for cameo appearances.
The Blade Runner video game was stuck in a legal rights battle but was finally re-released on GOG.com in December 2019. Nightdive will utilize its KEX game engine to restore Blade Runner for modern systems, similar to the work done on System Shock: Enhanced Edition, and Turok.
Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition will feature updated character models and animations, upscaled cutscenes, widescreen support, keyboard and controller customization, and other improvements. Nightdive CEO Stephen Kick says however that since so much of the original game was ahead of its time, that the studio will preserve Westwood’s vision and gameplay.
Meanwhile, the former members of Westwood Studios are working on their own remaster of the Command and Conquer series for EA.
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Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.
Source: IGN.com A Remaster of the Classic Blade Runner Adventure Game Is Coming to PC and Consoles Later This Year