“You’ve seen what we’ve done with DOOM & Quake”
Stephen Kick, CEO of Nightdive Studios, has said he’d love to remaster Epic’s 90s FPS Unreal. Not familiar with Nightdive? They’re the team behind this May’s triumphantSystem Shockremake, which Jeremy Peeldescribed in his reviewas “a breathtakingly beautiful and astonishingly faithful remake that proves the enduring power of Looking Glass design”. They’re also the studio behind last week’s surprise-releasedQuake 2 remaster, and a bunch of other classic 90s remasters including the PC version ofDOOM 64andRise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition. It’s safe to say they know how to pull off a retro (sorry, Kamiya-san) comeback.
Kickthrew down the gauntlet on Xitterlast night in response to a post about bringing back Unreal from former Epic honcho and original Unreal designer Cliff Bleszinski, who is inquite a nostalgic mood these days. It sounds like the two have been pitching the idea behind the scenes. “It should be known @therealcliffyb stuck his neck out for us and we gave it a real go,” he wrote. “@TimSweeneyEpic we’d be honored to be the care takers of Unreal, you’ve seen what we’ve done with DOOM &Quake, it’d be in good hands @NightdiveStudio.”
All of which echoes Kick’s rather stirring comments to Jeremy ina Nightdive Studio profile, following the launch of the System Shock remake. “I want people to make games that are influenced by our past,” he said. “As far back as we can go. And the only way we can do that is if we preserve them for people to play.”
Nightdive, I notice, havetwo unannounced titles on the boil. What would you like them to do next? And do you have any Unreal memories to share?
