Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition, the remaster of the 1997 classic point-and-click adventure made by Westwood Studios, is now stuck in development limbo. Previously it was planned for 2020 release for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC. Nightdive CEO Stephen Kick confirmed the delay is caused by “old technology” in an interview with Eurogamer.
Nightdive Studios, known for its System Shock and Turok: Dinosaur Hunter rereleases, managed to secure the license from the current rights holder of the Blade Runner IP, film production company Alcon Entertainment, back in December 2019. While EA managed to find old “Westwood content” during and helped the development of the Command & Conquer Remastered, it seems the Blade Runner source code is still lost to time like tears in rain, Kick added.
Although Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition now carries a “TBD” release date, fans have managed to reverse-engineer the original release using ScummVM. A program that supports over 250 classic adventure games. This fan-made release has been available on GOG.com since late 2019, even packed with cut content. If you’re wondering why Nightdive didn’t just use the ScummVM version, Eurogamer thought the same as well.
According to Eurogamer, Nightdive originally intended to base their work on the fan reverse-engineered codes but the fact that the program used the open-source agreement ended up preventing that idea. Simply put, Nightdive would have had to release Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition along with accessible source code of the game to anyone who bought it. It’s completely doable on PC, sure, but the logistics are impossible for console releases.
Still, Kick and his team believe that this is just “taking a bit longer than they anticipated”. They still believe they will be able to release Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition soon.
