InXile originally tweeted that today marks the 30th anniversary of the original Wasteland game. That prompted a player to ask about a remake or remaster which inXile reminded was already in the works.
We are in fact working on a remaster of the original Wasteland.
— InXile Entertainment (@Inxile_Ent) November 28, 2018
The original Wasteland, released in 1988, was one of the most influential video games from that time period. Set in a post-apocalyptic, uhh, wasteland, you set out with your band of characters to discover a grave threat to the remaining survivors. It was notable for its brutal difficulty and the fact that NPCs aren’t braindead, they could actually refuse your own orders. Wasteland also featured a persistent world, one of the first of its kind, ensuring a unique form of immersion for players. It was gritty, it was mature; it pulled no punches. RPG could actually be grounded in reality and not necessarily bordering on fantasy elements. Owing to its influence, the team crafted another post-apocalyptic franchise — Fallout.
Don’t Waste It
It took a very long time to see another Wasteland game. Wasteland 2 was released in 2014, 26 years after the original. By then, fans of the original who were probably kids or teens when it released, had kids of their own.
So yes, 2019 looks to be a big year for long-time fans of the franchise. The Wasteland 30th Anniversary Bundle on Steam offers not just the Director’s Cut version of the second game as well as goodies like soundtracks. It also includes the classic version of the first game as well as the remastered version which will come out in early 2019.
InXile will be very busy not just with that but with the upcoming Wasteland 3 as well. That’s also slated for a 2019 release. We can only hope that both games truly live up to their potential.
Microsoft acquired both inXile and Obsidian earlier this month. It’s worth noting that the developers considered this a massive leap given the additional production and QA support they’d receive from the tech giant. Looks like they’ll no longer need to crowdsource via Kickstarter, such as the case of The Bard’s Tale IVÂ and Torment: Tides of Numenera, just to get their projects to move forward.
