December 07 – Iconic game publisher Atari® has selected Nightdive Studios – a dedicated team of industry veterans committed to restoring the classic PC game titles of the past and making them accessible to a new generation of gamers – to revamp the classic Atari-owned Adventure-Horror PC title Blood. Originally developed by Monolith Productions and released in 1997, Blood remains a fan-favorite and will receive enhancements to improve the action-packed, horrifying game experience.
The team working on the game at Nightdive Studios includes lead engine developer Samuel “Kaiser” Villarreal, whose previous work includes The Original Strife, Turok, Turok 2: Seeds of Evil and, most recently, Forsaken Remastered. Additionally, developers Edward Richardson, James Haley, and producer Daniel Grayshon will be working on the project.
Regarding the upgrading effort, Daniel said: “Blood stood up extremely well over time and we are taking care to preserve all the qualities that made the game so special. It really only needs minor updates to provide a better user experience for contemporary audiences. By using some of the functions of Nightdive’s KEX engine, we’ll be able to provide compatibility with today’s video standards, with DirectX and Vulkan support.”
He continued: “Similarly, we’ll provide compatibility with the current audio standards. We’ll add support for modern networks, Steamworks, and GOG Galaxy to bring this original game to more players. As part of this, we will preserve the accuracy of the game behavior. While these upgrades are relatively minor, we are confident that they will provide fans with a better, current generation gameplay experience.”
“We are thrilled to work with the fine team at Nightdive Studios to bring the cult classic Blood back to gamers,” said Todd Shallbetter, COO of Atari. “Blood is a grisly good time, and there’s no better team out there than Nightdive to ensure that the game will find new fans.”
Originally released in 1997, Blood is a First-Person Shooter that helped redefine the genre and first introduced many elements now accepted as commonplace. In Blood, players jump into the boots of undead gunslinger Caleb as he seeks revenge against the dark god Chernobog. Caleb’s arsenal features a mix of standard and occult weaponry, which he uses to devastating and gore-filled, effect. In the game, players visit a terrifying world populated by hordes of bloodthirsty fiends including cultists, gargoyles, zombies, hellhounds, and an unholy host of other terrors.
Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks.
