After being spotted on the Microsoft Store out of nowhere last night, THQ Nordic has officially announced that the long lost RPG, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, is being remastered for current-generation systems. Now being dubbed, Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning, the game will feature newer visuals as well as some newer gameplay which is being re-tuned. On top of that, all of the previous DLC that was released for the game is being included for the full package, and it will launch later this Summer on August 18.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning will be developed by Kaiko, who has worked with THQ Nordic in the past with other remakes and remasters such as Darksiders Warmastered Edition and Darksiders 2 Deathinitive Edition. Just from the screenshots alone, the game looks to have been substantially improved compared to its 2012 iteration. The game will be launching for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. While all three will get the remaster treatment, we’d imagine that those playing on PC will have even more optimization with up to 4k resolution support and the desired 60 frames per second.
If you’re unfamiliar with Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, don’t feel too bad as the game was essentially lost to time for the better part of eight and half years. Releasing in 2012, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning was the passion project of former professional baseball player Curt Schilling, who founded 38 Studios with the sole purpose of creating his own original IP. 38 Games bought out Big Huge Games and had them assist in the development of the title.
The game was generally well-received with the gameplay mechanics and the overall presentation being particularly praised. Despite this, it didn’t exactly set the gaming world on fire, something that seemed to be bit of a sore point in the succeeding story that dominated the gaming headlines. Prior to the game’s release, and due to some serious money issues, Schilling moved 38 Studios to Rhode Island from Boston thanks to a financial incentive from the state and hoped that would alleviate most of the problems. What followed was, and still is, one of the most controversial and biggest downfalls of a video game studio that has been well documented over the years.
Despite releasing a modestly successful title that was also under the EA banner, Schilling found that he could no longer financially sustain the company and filed for bankruptcy only a few months after Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning launched. The state of Rhode Island, Schilling, and all of the employees of 38 Studios and Big Huge Games were greatly affected by this, and investigations and lawsuits compounded all those involved for several years. THQ Nordic would swoop in and acquire the rights to the franchise in 2018, and now we’re getting a remaster of an RPG that most definitely deserves it.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning will launch this Summer on August 18, 2020, for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.