Update #2 []: Unfortunately, those of you in Europe waiting for The Thing: Remastered to drop on the eShop, you'll have to wait a little longer.
In a press release, Nightdive Studio stated "Due to unforeseen circumstances, The Thing: Remastered will launch on the European Nintendo eShop later this month."
Hopefully it'll only be a few days, but keep an eye out for more announcements. We'll be sure to let you know when the game is out in Europe.
Update #1 []: Well, would you look at that - The Thing: Remastered is out right now!
Nightdive Studio's latest remaster of the 2002 PS2, PC, and Xbox survival horror shooter is available for USD $29.99 on the US eShop. We'll update you as soon as the EU eShop page goes live.
According to an interview published on Xbox Wire today, art lead Josh Welsh says that this is the "most ambitious remaster to date" for the studio, and that has us pretty excited.
Here's a rundown of the game from the eShop listing:
The 2002 third-person survival horror shooter that serves as a sequel to the genre-defining 1982 film is back, remastered by Nightdive Studios to bring this innovative blend of fast paced squad action meets survival horror to the modern era. Including Antialiasing, Per Pixel Lighting, 4K Resolution and up to 144 FPS.
Where the movie ended, the true terror begins.
You are Cpt J.F. Blake, leader of a U.S. Special Forces rescue team sent to investigate the blood-curdling events and enigmatic deaths of the American scientific team that transpired at the Outpost 31 research facility located in the frozen wastelands of Antarctica. Within these inhospitable surroundings your team encounters a strange shape-shifting alien life-form that assumes the appearance of people that it kills. Trapped by the elements and infected by this horrific entity, using all your team members is critical if you hope to accomplish your objectives, let alone survive. If you only knew which ones were still human…
The Thing: Remastered Key Features:
• In 20 frightening levels, lead your team against terrifying monsters, from the scuttling head-spiders and human-like walkers to gigantic multi-tentacled beasts.
• Advanced trust/fear interface adds a new level of interaction – How you influence your teams psychological state determines whether or not they will co-operate with you.
• Experience brand new dynamic lighting, specular mapping, shadows, depth of field complemented by improved models, textures and environments to create a deep level of immersion.
• Use awesome firepower like machine guns, explosives and flamethrowers to torch your enemies.
• Brand new Achievements.
• Quality of Life gameplay enhancements to improve your experience.
• Choose multiple paths to solve problems that lie ahead and accomplish goals.
Original Story: Nightdive Studios' The Thing: Remastered has been sitting on a 2024 release date for a while now, and while a post from the developer yesterday confirmed that it will definitely be coming in December (it is the last month of the year, after all), an Xbox Wire line-up might have given us an even more specific date (thanks to our pals at Pure Xbox for the heads up).
Titled 'Next Week on Xbox: New Games for December 2 to 6', the Xbox Wire post lists Nightdive's remaster with a 5th December release date for Microsoft's latest consoles and Game Pass. Now, this is yet to be confirmed by the developer and there's obviously no guarantee that the Switch version will arrive on the same day, but this certainly seems like a real possibility.
Quiet announcements like this aren't all that rare an occurrence these days, with releases split between different platforms. So, while we're slightly surprised that we haven't seen a "The Thing: Remastered comes to consoles on 5th December" post, there's every chance that a not-so-shadowy shadow drop is planned for tomorrow.
That said, we're not about to completely defrost our horror excitement just yet — as we say, the Switch version might not land on the same day. But December is in full swing now, so there are only so many days left before we get to go hands-on with this one, all the same.
Before that happens, however, why not catch up on everything that has gone into the making of the game? Earlier this year, we sat down with some members of the Nightdive team to discuss remasters, Switch performance and all things horror. You can find the full interview below.