It’s been an eventful year for us here at Nightdive Studios. In 2024, we released STAR WARS: Dark Forces Remaster, PO’ed: Definitive Edition, Killing Time: Resurrected, and The Thing: Remastered. We brought our System Shock remake to Xbox and PlayStation consoles, and helped Bethesda and id Software with the surprise re-release of DOOM + DOOM II at QuakeCon.
Not to mention, we debuted our Deep Dive podcast, updated our website, added new members to the team, and made progress on remasters we’re looking forward to sharing more information with you about in 2025 and beyond.
Before we delve deeper into what’ll hopefully be the first of many yearly recaps, we want to say THANK YOU to everyone in the gaming community for playing our games, listening to our Deep Dive podcast, interacting with us on social media, and supporting our efforts to bring lost and forgotten titles back from the depths.
Everything Nightdive Studios Released In 2024
STAR WARS™: Dark Forces Remaster
We started the year off with a Bryar pistol blast, releasing STAR WARS: Dark Forces Remaster on February 28. In an interview shared to the PlayStation Blog, our project lead Max Waine elaborates on how ahead of its time Dark Forces was:
There are two things that jump out at me the most for the time period: support for 3D environments that allow for room-over-room, which was something that the Doom engine was not capable of; seamless integration of fully 3D objects within the environment (like Kyle’s ship, X-Wings, Mouse Droids, etc.). At a time where FPSs were largely abstract in locales, Dark Forces pushed the tech forward enough to be able to successfully realize familiar and more realistic environments. In addition to that, it was able to tell a cohesive story complete with fully voice-acted cutscenes. The sum total of this is a game that really pushed forward just how immersive FPSs could be.
If you think you have what it takes to help Kyle Katarn and the Rebel Alliance foil the Galactic Empire’s sinister Dark Trooper Project, hop aboard the Moldy Crow and join the fight with STAR WARS: Dark Forces Remaster available on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam, GOG, Humble)!
PO’ed: Definitive Edition
No joke, we released PO’ed: Definitive Edition on April 1. This delicious remaster of Any Channel’s one-of-a-kind 1995 FPS was born from a birthday wish by our lead KEX developer Samuel Villarreal, and the belief that all games deserve to be preserved. You can learn more about the “how” and “why” in Kotaku’s Story Behind PO’ed: Definitive Edition, 2024’s Weirdest Remaster:
“The inspiration came from Sam “Kaiser” Villarreal, our lead KEX developer,” said Larry Kuperman, Nightdive’s director of business development. “Sam played the game when it originally came out and it had (and still has) a special place in his heart.” According to Kuperman, Villarreal’s birthday was coming up, and Nightdive CEO and studio head Stephen Kick asked what gift he wanted for his b-day. “He wanted to remaster PO’ed. And here we are,” explained Kuperman. So Kick began looking into whether it’d be possible to track down the original developers and owners of PO’ed to make a remaster happen. “After tracking down the original developers we put a deal in place to make it happen,” said Kick. “They were absolutely thrilled to hear that PO’ed would be getting the Nightdive treatment.”
Hungry to grab your jetpack and start kicking cosmic alien butt with your trusty frying pan? Serve yourself a plate of PO’ed: Definitive Edition, available on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam, GOG, Humble)!
System Shock
(Xbox, PlayStation)
On May 2, we brought our critically acclaimed System Shock remake to Xbox and PlayStation consoles. After its release, John Linneman of Digital Foundry shared his thoughts on how System Shock arrived on consoles with its retro modern magic intact:
The key here is that System Shock on console is just about the best conversion I could have hoped for. I did have concerns of how a PC-focused experience designed around mouse and keyboard would translate, but all those worries were unfounded. Everything I love about the original release is intact – and I think I’m even more enamored with System Shock now than I was after finishing it on PC. While it’s technically a remake, it genuinely feels like a new game inspired by that original from 1994.
Are you brave enough to explore the deadly corridors of Citadel Station and challenge its perfect, immortal machine SHODAN? Find out with System Shock available on PC (Steam, GOG, Humble), and Xbox and PlayStation consoles!
DOOM + DOOM II
At QuakeCon, Nightdive was part of Bethesda and id Software’s surprise re-release of DOOM + DOOM II on August 8. We also helped create a brand-new episode for DOOM + DOOM II with Legacy of Rust. On the Epic Games Store blog, Rick Lane describes Legacy of Rust as an old-school Doom campaign for a new age:
Legacy of Rust is a campaign for seasoned Doom Slayers, more so than MachineGames’ and Nightdive’s previous embellishments to Quake and Quake II. While Legacy of Rust can be punishing, it doesn’t just throw demons at you with zero regard for design. Most of its scenarios have been crafted to test you in different ways, and many of its levels are as entertaining to unpick logically as they are to fight through. The second episode in particular has fun with transforming arenas, with maps like Dis Union slowly unfolding amid torrents of blood like a flower on a carnivorous plant.
To learn more about the work we did on the re-release of DOOM + DOOM II and the creation of Legacy of Rust, check out our Deep Dive with Xaser and Edward. If you don’t own it already, you can add DOOM + DOOM II to your collection on all platforms including Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam, GOG, Epic Games)!
Killing Time: Resurrected
On October 17, we released Killing Time: Resurrected in collaboration with our friends at Ziggurat Interactive. In an Xbox Wire post on Why Games Like Killing Time Deserve to be Preserved, Ziggurat’s Alex Lodz talks about the company’s passion for game preservation:
Games of all kinds deserve preservation for general reasons, like historical interest, and to serve as windows into the media and entertainment culture of their time. We’re especially passionate about preserving games like Killing Time that showcase the original development team’s outstanding imagination and willingness to take innovative risks when it comes to gameplay, presentation, design, technical implementation, and storytelling.
Unravel the immortal mystery of the Conway Estate in up to 4K at 144 FPS, all while avoiding swarms of creepy cockroaches, killer clowns, and smoking skeletons with Killing Time: Resurrected available on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam, GOG, Humble)!
The Thing: Remastered
We worked with Computer Artworks art director Ron Ashtiani and technical director Mark Atkinson to resurrect The Thing: Remastered on December 5. In an Xbox Wire post on How The Thing: Remastered Remains Faithful To 2002’s Adaptation, Mark Atkinson talks about working with the original team on the remaster:
On the remaster, Ron and I were involved from the start, resurrecting the old code and master quality art assets, and helping guide the Nightdive team, e.g. what was intentional vs. where we just ran out of time to polish. The remaster adds many significant upgrades in terms of gameplay, level design, UI, HUD etc., which go beyond a simple 4K reskin. Ron and I gave the green light to all of that, as well as consulting Andrew Curtis, the original game designer. In practical terms, I did a significant amount of C++ work as we wanted to really take the opportunity to make the remaster as good as possible.
Join Captain J.F. Blake and his crew as they battle the elements, isolation, and a few other “Things” in an investigation of Outpost 31 with The Thing: Remastered available on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam, GOG, Humble)!
Deep Dive Podcast
Earlier in the year, we launched our Deep Dive podcast as a way to share behind-the-scenes details about the work we do here at Nightdive, and offer insight into other areas of the games industry via interviews with a variety of special guests. Here’s a quick look at all of the episodes we published this year!
- Episode 01 – The Thing: Remastered
- Episode 02 – Killing Time: Resurrected
- Episode 03 – STAR WARS: Dark Forces Remaster
- Episode 04 – Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition
- Episode 05 – Limited Run Games (interview with Josh Fairhurst)
- Episode 06 – Games Journalism (interview with Evan Lahti of PC Gamer)
- Special Ep – How is the Art Progressing in The Thing: Remastered?
- Special Ep – DOOM + DOOM II (interview with Xaser & Edward)
- Special Ep – DOOM + DOOM II (interview with Kevin Cloud & Larry Kuperman)
- Special Ep – DOOM + DOOM II (interview with Joshua Boyle & Mike Rubits)
- Special Ep – DOOM + DOOM II (interview with Jeron Moore & Jon Pilon)
- Special Ep – STAR WARS: Dark Forces Remaster (interview with Bren)
- Special Ep – Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition (interview with Lexi)
- Special Ep – Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition (interview with Dave Oshry)
- Special Ep – Killing Time: Resurrected (interview with Albert)
- Special Ep – Killing Time: Resurrected (interview with Seth)
- Special Ep – Games Industry (interview with John Melchior & Larry Kuperman)
- Special Ep – The Thing: Remastered (interview with Mark Atkinson)
Nightdive on YouTube and Twitch
Every Monday and Saturday, our official Twitch streamer Kelsea (Miss_Slaughter) hosts streams of Nightdive releases like The Thing: Remastered, along with other must-play titles like Blood: Fresh Supply, Dead Space, and more. Kelsea also helped host our special Holiday Episode of Deep Dive, which you can watch above. Stay tuned for more exciting streams from Miss_Slaughter and Nightdive on Twitch and YouTube in 2025!