Wasteland Remastered briefly became free on Xbox and PC in mid-April because of a glitch, but the downloaded version did not work. inXile Entertainment has not swept the mistake under the rug: everyone who claimed the broken edition will now receive a real, playable copy instead.
Anyone keeping track of recent gaming news may have noticed that Wasteland Remastered became available for free on Xbox and PC in mid-April. It looked a little too good to be completely normal, and now the reason is clear: it was not a planned giveaway. inXile Entertainment did not intend to hand out the remastered version of its classic RPG for free, and the version players downloaded at the time did not even launch on their devices.
The studio, however, has not gone for the usual corporate fog machine. It did not quietly erase the matter, it did not try to close the case with a dry note about a technical issue, and it did not leave the players who claimed the accidentally free version empty-handed. Instead, the team decided that every affected user would receive a real, working copy of Wasteland Remastered.
inXile Entertainment clarified in its own post that the RPG appearing for free on Microsoft’s digital store was not an intentional promotion. “A couple of weeks ago, a bug caused Wasteland Remastered to be free on the Microsoft/Xbox Store, but the version people downloaded before we fixed the glitch is actually unplayable”, the studio wrote. “So, we’re giving away a playable version.”
They Did Not Take It Away, They Actually Made It Work
The developers also explained what will happen to those who managed to redeem the broken version. “If you were lucky enough to redeem it, you’ll soon see that the non-functional game will be removed from your library, and a new copy will be waiting for you in the Offers & Credits section.” In practice, this means inXile not only acknowledged the mistake, but immediately chose a solution that benefits the players.
The situation is especially interesting because the studio had two clear options. It could have ignored the whole thing, since the mistakenly claimed version of Wasteland Remastered did not work anyway, meaning players had not actually gained access to the experience. Or it could handle its own system error generously and provide a working copy to those who thought they had secured the game. inXile chose the latter, which is a genuinely welcome surprise by current industry standards.
The decision has drawn positive attention because many companies in a similar situation would simply revoke the incorrectly distributed product and close the issue with a sterile statement at most. Here, however, the studio did not punish players for reacting quickly to a store glitch. Instead, it admitted that the situation had been messy and solved it in the cleanest possible way: those who claimed the game will now actually receive it.
A Remastered Cult RPG Lands In More Players’ Libraries
At the end of the story, then, the players who grabbed Wasteland Remastered will truly gain access to the RPG. And this is not just any title: inXile Entertainment worked on a remastered version of the original Wasteland, first released in 1988, modernizing a post-apocalyptic experience that is now widely considered a cult classic. The series matters to the history of the genre for good reason, having placed nuclear devastation, tactical decisions, and harsh consequences at the center of its world long before those elements became more broadly fashionable.
The game’s description places the story in 2087, nearly a century after a devastating nuclear war transformed vast parts of Earth into radioactive wastelands. The player is part of the Desert Rangers, a group of loyal agents who represent the last hope of what used to be the American Southwest, as well as the final line of defense against famine, disease, raiders, and mutants.
The situation, however, is made even more dangerous by something far more mysterious and sinister, a threat hanging over all of humanity. The player’s task is to investigate, recruit allies, follow the clues, and make decisions that reshape the world around them. Wasteland Remastered has therefore become interesting again not only because of an accidental store glitch, but also because more players will now get the chance to try the modernized version of one of post-apocalyptic role-playing’s foundational works.
Source: 3DJuegos
