Atari® Partners with Nightdive Studios for Reboot of Adventure-Horror PC title “Blood”
Vancouver, WA (December 07, 2018) – 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.
A press kit with screenshots and logos is available here: https://uberstrategist.link/
About Nightdive Studios
Based in Vancouver, Washington Nightdive Studios is 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. Hit titles from Nightdive Studios include System Shock 2, System Shock EE, Turok, Turok 2: Seeds of Evil and Forsaken Remastered. The team is currently working on System Shock with an expected release date of 2020.
More info can be found at the company’s website at www.nightdivestudios.comor on Facebook at facebook.com/NightDiveStudios or via Twitter at @NightDiveStudio.
About Atari
Atari is an interactive entertainment production company. As an iconic brand that transcends generations and audiences, the company is globally recognized for its multi-platform, interactive entertainment and licensed products. Atari owns and/or manages a portfolio of more than 200 games and franchises, including world-renowned brands like Asteroids®, Centipede®, Missile Command®, Pong®, and RollerCoaster Tycoon®. Atari has offices in New York and Paris. Visit us online at http://www.atari.com
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