The developers of Outcast, a groundbreaking 1999 PC game, are hoping to fund an HD remake with the help of fans on Kickstarter. The campaign is seeking $600,000 to fund a new PC version of the game, which will be entirely rebuilt using modern game engines and techniques.
The original Outcast, released in July 1999, was an open-world action and adventure game. The player controlled Cutter Slade, a U.S. Navy SEAL sent to an alien world in a parallel universe in an attempt to stop a black hole from destroying Earth. Featuring unprecedented open-world gameplay, lush environments, and a compelling storyline, Outcast received critical acclaim, winning several “Game of the Year” awards.
A sequel was planned for launch on the PlayStation 2, but developer Appeal went bankrupt before its release and the game was canceled. Instead of resuming work on the sequel, Fresh3D, the new team that includes several of the first game’s developers, is planning to remake the original game first. If successful, the Kickstarter project promises all new HD objects, textures, and character models, improved UI elements, better camera control, controller support, and the elimination of some “annoying” bugs that affected the original game’s story.
Stretch goals include Mac and Linux support at $750,000, “next-gen” graphics and physics at $950,000, Oculus Rift VR support at $1,000,000, a next-gen console port at $1,350,000, and an entirely new game region that “paves the way towards Outcast II” at $1,700,000.
If all goes well, the Outcast HD Reboot should be ready by October 2015. Those looking to help Kickstart the project can secure a digital copy for a pledge of $25, with the usual bonus tiers offering additional goodies up to the $10,000 level. While you wait for the remake’s release, fans can also play the original game, which is now available at GOG for $5.99
As of the date of this article, the Outcast Kickstarter has raised about $144,000 from 3,487 backers with 27 days to go.
