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The Thing: Remastered surprise-launches for PC and consoles

Trust nobody.
the thing remastered game preservation

Nightdive Studios has surprise-released The Thing: Remastered on PC, consoles, and NVIDIA GeForce NOW, following much speculation about its imminent launch. The game was only announced in June 2024 and didn’t have a firm release date – but it appears Nightdive was chipping away at plans in the background, preparing for this holiday drop.

For those unfamiliar, The Thing: Remastered is a graphical refresh of Computer Artworks’ The Thing, a squad survival shooter where players land at the mysterious U.S. Outpost 31 to determine what happened to the original team of researchers from the 1982 film.

It essentially functions as a sequel to The Thing, although it’s fair to say it may not be strictly canon. After all, there’s a particular character that appears, who provides a definitive answer to the age-old question of who survived at the end of the film – and this question was always intended to be an open-ended mystery.

Regardless, The Thing was very well-received in its time, with critical reviews praising its unique trust system, its action-adventure story, and its survival-style gameplay. Per Nightdive Studios, its refreshed version of the game maintains these elements, with an added graphical restoration including improvements to animations, character models, and textures.

Read: Game preservation is difficult work – but we must do it now

“In keeping true to the spirit of one of the most iconic alien organisms in pop culture, The Thing: Remastered has emerged when you’d have least expected it,” Larry Kuperman, Nightdive Studios’ Director of Business Development said in a press release.

“For the whole Nightdive crew, it has been an honour working with Universal and members of the original development team to not only remaster The Thing video game, but deliver on the original vision for the game. We hope fans worldwide enjoy their return to Outpost 31.”

As announced, The Thing: Remastered is now available for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and via NVIDIA GeForce NOW. Those playing on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S can expect the game to run at up to 4K 120FPS, and everyone else will still gain the benefit of improved visuals and streamlined gameplay.

Those keen to jump in should remember one thing: don’t trust anyone. The Thing is out there. It could even be you.

Leah J. Williams is a gaming and entertainment journalist who's spent years writing about the games industry, her love for The Sims 2 on Nintendo DS and every piece of weird history she knows. You can find her tweeting @legenette most days.