Highlights
- 2002 survival horror game The Thing is getting a remaster.
- The Thing: Remastered is coming to PC and consoles in 2024.
- The PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S versions of the game promise to deliver 4K gameplay at up to 120fps.
The Thing is getting a remaster after 22 years. The upcoming release aims to offer another generation of gamers a chance to experience the cult-classic horror game based on John Carpenter's The Thing.
Despite sharing the name with the 1982 film, The Thing isn't an adaptation of the iconic horror movie, but instead serves as its direct sequel. It was widely praised at launch and eventually secured two accolade nominations, in addition to winning the Game Innovation Spotlight award at the 2003 edition of the Game Developers Conference. The positive buzz helped it surpass one million worldwide sales, a significant commercial success for an early-aughts survival horror title. Many genre aficionados still consider The Thing to be one of the scariest Arctic horror games in existence.
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The Thing: Remastered Promises 4K Gameplay At Up To 120fps
The 2002 classic is now set to make a return in the form of The Thing: Remastered, announced on June 7. While the original was made by the now-defunct Computer Artworks, this new version of the game is being handled by Atari subsidiary Nightdive Studios, the company behind the 2023 System Shock remake. Like many of the developer's ports, The Thing: Remastered will run on Nightdive's proprietary KEX engine, with the studio vowing to deliver significantly updated, high-definition visuals. Specifically, select versions of the game will target a 4K resolution and 120 frames per second.
The Thing: Remastered Is Coming in 2024
Exact performance targets will be platform-dependent, as the remaster is coming to a wide variety of systems, ranging from the Nintendo Switch and PC to the latest two generations of Xbox and PlayStation consoles. Although Nightdive Studios has yet to commit to a concrete release date, the game is confirmed to be aiming for a 2024 launch. PC gamers can already wishlist The Thing: Remastered on Steam. While pricing details are yet to be announced, Nightdive's track record indicates that the game is unlikely to retail at full price. $39.99 is plausibly beyond the upper limit of what fans can expect, as that's the regular retail price of the System Shock remake, which was ostensibly a much more time-consuming project for the developer to complete.
The game's upgraded visuals will comprise improved character models, higher-definition textures, and revised animations, which have largely been remade from scratch. Modern lighting and atmospheric effects will also be part of the package, helping to bring the game in line with contemporary sensibilities. Visual changes aside, The Thing: Remastered is said to be a "faithful restoration" of the iconic horror game that recently turned 20.
The modernized version of The Thing isn't the only remaster that is currently in the works at Nightdive Studios. June 2024 also saw the company announce Killing Time Resurrected, a new and improved version of a classic horror shooter from 1995.
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