Replicating Blade Runner: why the adventure game classic is so tough to remaster
When Nightdive Studios announced it was working on a remaster of the beloved 1997 point-and-click adventure Blade Runner, it said the game would come out on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch later in 2020. Eurogamer can reveal that won’t happen, as development on the game has run into a raft of challenges that have complicated the work.
Nightdive Studios, which is known for restoring classic games such as System Shock and Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, secured a licence from Blade Runner rights holder Alcon Entertainment back in December 2019, and set to work remastering Westwood Studios’ cinematic adventure.
In September 2020, the Vancouver, Washington-based developer released a video showing off the original’s opening cutscene compared to the remastered version’s. The video didn’t go down particularly well, with some fans complaining that Blade Runner’s cool, film-like look had been lost in the upscaling process.
Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition Cinematic Update – Nightdive Studios Watch on YouTube
In an interview with Eurogamer, Nightdive CEO Stephen Kick confirmed Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition, as it’s called, now carries a “TBD” release date.
“There have been some obstacles we’ve had to overcome in terms of the old technology the game uses,” Kick said. “And our hunt for the original source code and assets have come up empty.”
When EA bought Westwood in August 1998 and had the studio move office, the Blade Runner source code was lost. While a vault of old Westwood content was unearthed by EA during the development of the Command & Conquer remaster, Kick doesn’t think he’ll end up with anything Blade Runner-related from it, even if it is found.
