In brief: Nightdive Studios remains committed to its ongoing mission of remastering classic first-person shooters, showing no signs of slowing down. While the company has successfully revitalized iconic franchises such as Doom, Quake, and System Shock, there's one notable title they haven't tackled yet: Unreal (despite the desires of certain industry figures).
Nightdive CEO Stephen Kick has expressed his interest in remastering the original Unreal. Although there is no current confirmation of such a project being in progress, fans who are eager to see an enhanced version of the 1998 classic should make their wishes known to Epic Games.
Kick's remarks came in response to Epic Games alum Cliff Bleszinski, who praised Nightdive's recent efforts with Quake II and inquired about the possibility of a similar treatment for Unreal. Bleszinski also shared that he had requested an Unreal remake in his farewell speech while at Epic.
Tagging Epic CEO Tim Sweeney, Nightdive's boss conveyed that his company would be honored to collaborate with Epic on remastering Unreal. However, there has been no official response from Epic thus far.
It should be known @therealcliffyb stuck his neck out for us and we gave it a real go. @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 https://t.co/STgITlVAxn
– Stephen Kick (@pripyatbeast) August 17, 2023
The first game in the Unreal series was a technically innovative title for its time, setting the groundwork for the original Unreal engine, whose successors fuel a considerable number of today's most beloved games. Critics continue to commend it as a meticulously crafted single-player FPS.
Unfortunately, Epic has shown limited attention to the franchise that played a significant role in establishing the company's reputation. No fresh Unreal titles have emerged since Unreal Tournament 3 in 2007, and Epic terminated development on a reboot in 2018. Furthermore, the company recently removed the entire series from digital storefronts.
Similar to the new versions of Quake, Quake II, and Rise of the Triad, a remastered version of Unreal by Nightdive would likely incorporate numerous quality-of-life improvements, enhance the graphics, and potentially integrate content that was originally left unused. It is also probable that the studio would extend the game's availability to consoles for the first time.
While Epic has not revealed any intentions to revisit Unreal or permit external parties to work on it, Kick confirmed that Nightdive is actively engaged in developing two undisclosed projects. The only hint regarding their nature is that Trespasser – the Jurassic Park FPS that ambitiously attempted feats beyond the capabilities of technology in the late 1990s – is not among them.