#remasters

#remasters

There was strong speculation online that the countdown would end with the announcement (and in some more hopeful corners, the release) of remasters for either Fallout 3 or Fallout: New Vegas, neither of which transpired yesterday evening. Instead, fans of both the games and show were treated to recreation of one of New Vegas' most iconic locations: the Lucky 38 casino penthouse, home to Robert House, before the bombs dropped.

The existence of upcoming new versions of Bethesda's and Fallout: New Vegas might be the worst-kept secret in gaming right now, much like The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered was prior to its release last year . If this is the first you're hearing of this, of why everyone is so convinced that the remasters are on the way. The community is understandably excited, with said excitement at least partially fueled by the success of Fallout season 2 on Prime.

Generally, remasters simply update the original game for more modern platforms, maybe making light tweaks to visuals or quality-of-life features. Remakes, on the other hand, more integrally change the experience, making drastic changes to gameplay or adding entirely new sections. Alongside just giving players an updated version of the game, remasters can play an integral role in video game preservation - saving key titles from being lost to the ravages of time.

The Tales Series Remastered Project isn't wasting any time getting to its next game, even with Tales of Xillia Remastered releasing just a few weeks ago. And while it's a choice that makes sense, it might be disappointing to fans hoping that Bandai Namco would dig further into the history of its long-running RPG franchise. Tales of Berseria Remastered will arrive in February 2026, making it the third PlayStation 3 remaster in a row.

Research firm Ampere Analysis tracked data from January 2024 to September 2025, looking at 42 re-releases (specifically, 15 remakes and 27 remasters). These releases accumulated 72.4 million players across Xbox, PlayStation, and Steam, with consumers spending $1.4 billion from purchasing these games and related in-game monetisation. Overall, the average remake produced 2.2 times the amount of consumer spending as remasters did during that time frame.

These originally launched in Japan and Europe a few years ago, but US fans were stuck with digital versions on the eShop. While you could import and play the physical versions from other regions thanks to the Switch's region-free hardware, these new US releases will (hopefully) be easier to find when they launch on December 9. Preorders for both games are now live at Amazon for $40 each.

When a name like Acclaim returns, you can't help but expect fireworks. For gamers of a certain age (me included), Acclaim is more than a publisher; it's a time capsule of the '90s and early noughties. This was the label that gave us NBA Jam, Burnout, Re-Volt, Turok, and Shadow Man. It's the kind of back catalogue that makes you imagine instant remasters, slick reboots, maybe even a comeback tour for a series or two.

On August 7, Bethesda released remastered versions of Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders, Hexen: Beyond Heretic, and Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel without warning.