Game developers across the industry apparently have spontaneously decided to have a late 90s/new millennium revival all on the same day. Three games revealed today hearken to the childhoods and teen years of millennial gamers everywhere: a new Baldur’s Gate, a reboot of Modern Warfare, and a remastering of the Ghostbusters game.
Yeah, it’s been a big day.
The most unexpected news was what appears to be a new Baldur’s Gate from Larian Studios, the makers of the Divinity: Original Sin games. Visiting the studio’s website, you’ll see a stylized Roman numeral III, which several eagle-eyed gamers initially took to be a tease for Original Sin III. However, some who snooped around in the site’s metadata have deduced that it’s actually a tease for Baldur’s Gate III. If this is true, the evidence has apparently been scrubbed since, as TNW wasn’t able to confirm it, though a few other sites, like Kotaku, apparently have.
If true, it’d be quite the comeback for the franchise. The final entry in the series, the expansion pack Throne of Bhaal, was released in 2001. Rumors of a third main series entry have been teased for quite some time. A game called The Black Hound was being developed by Black Isle Studios, but was apparently cancelled in 2003. At last report, Atari had the license in 2004. Fifteen years is a long time to go without hearing anything — if we actually see Baldur’s Gate 3, especially from Larian, it’ll be a treat.
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Another surprising reveal is a reboot of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. It’s not the announcement of a new Call of Duty game that’s surprising: those are about as regular as Christmas. But the return to the game that put the series on the map is a bit unexpected. At first I was sure it was just a straight remake of the 2004 classic, but a quick check of the trailer and the rumored story reveal that’s not the case (and thank goodness too).
A report from Ars Technica (which is borne out by several shots in the trailer) claims that the story campaign will be split in half. Half of it will be spent with Modern Warfare stalwart Captain John Price, while the other half will follow the story of one rebel fighter, a woman, in the army Price’s unit is fighting. That’s an unexpected switch-up from the original CoD4, but I’m curious to see if Activision and developer Infinity Ward can pull it off.
The Ghostbusters remastering isn’t as much of a surprise. Rumors about it have been circling for several months — the game having been originally released in 2009 (and geez, I didn’t realize I was that old), its number is up for an anniversary edition. Still, it was a fun game, and is about as close to an official Ghostbusters 3 as we’re likely to get. Developer Saber Interactive dropped the trailer earlier today, and the game will apparently come on all current consoles and PC
I know it’s just a coincidence that all these games were revealed (or uncovered, in BG3‘s case) on the same day, but it still fills me and my inner child with glee. This is like a 00s-era gamer’s nostalgia trip. This is all pre-college me would ever have wanted, even if adult me still finds it amusing and slightly frustrating we’re reviving so many old franchises this far down the line.
Modern Warfare is coming out on October 25, while Ghostbusters Remastered is coming out sometime later this year. Baldur’s Gate 3, still not having been officially confirmed, might be revealed at E3. If it turns out to be Divinity: Original Sin 3, I will honestly still be quite delighted.
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