A reboot of the 2003 cult hit shooter XIII is now being planned, with publisher Microids announcing that the game will be remade at the end of 2022.

A cult hit FPS, XIII has had its fair share of ups and downs over the years. Initially released in 2003, the game sold so poorly that the planned sequel was quickly cancelled. However, it managed to build a fanbase that few expected, which encouraged the developers to bring the game back in some form. It took 17 years, but publisher Microids managed to make it happen. But the remake turned out to be a disaster. Microids has not given up, however, and has now announced that a revamped update of XIII is coming from a new developer.

Microids’ announcement was recently published on the Steam profile of the XIII remake.

First of all, Microids explains that to meet the quality standards expected by gamers, they are entrusting the game’s future development to Tower Five. Tower Five is a French team best known for the action-strategy game Lornsword Winter Chronicle. Furthermore, Tower Five has been working on a significant update for the game for over a year and is now ready to announce a release date of September 13.

All XIII Remake owners will receive the update for free; Microids hopes the update will allow players to experience the game as promised and intended. For starters, the update will include a “refined art style” that responds to the harsh criticism of the remake’s new art style. The comic book-inspired implementation of the original game using cell-shading was part of what made the game so beloved, but the remake has dramatically changed the look. No samples of the new visuals have yet been shared.

Other changes coming with the update include “enhanced A.I.”, “reworked HUD”, and “reworked sound design”, all of which dramatically improve the technical quality of the gameplay experience in terms of gameplay. Of course, these changes should also clarify how technically the remake struggled at a basic level. It had significant problems in all areas of the game.

Tower Five will also improve the performance of XIII on specific platforms.

In particular, the Switch version had to be addressed due to poor frame rates. The update should improve the performance of the Switch version to 30fps. The update will also enable 60fps on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Finally, Tower Five is also planning an add-on for the remake that will bring back XIII’s online multiplayer for 2-13 players. The original game featured 16-player multiplayer and various game modes, although it wasn’t what built the game’s cult fanbase. Regardless, it will be interesting to see what Tower Five manages to create when the XIII update arrives on September 13.

Source: Steam

Refined art style, online multiplayer, improved AI, XIII is back with a bang!

(Re)discover the classic cel-shaded FPS on Nintendo Switch on September 13th, 2022.

A free major update and the online multiplayer mode will be available the same day on PS4, Xbox One and PC. pic.twitter.com/oKwZ8o37t5

— Microids (@Microids_off) June 30, 2022