Nightdive Studios Head Talks Remastering Xbox 360 And PS3 Games

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After perfecting the craft of remastering early 3D games, Nightdive Studios is eager to tackle more recent titles.

During a conversation with VGC, Stephen Kick, who leads Nightdive Studios, expressed enthusiasm about potentially revamping games that originated during the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 era.

As a passionate gamer, I can’t help but appreciate the incredible work that Nightdive Studios has been doing. They’ve taken it upon themselves to bring numerous classic games from yesteryears to our modern platforms, such as I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, The Thing, Star Wars: Dark Forces, and so many more.

Initially, they mainly work on games initially released for PCs, using their own KEX engine to create the port versions. However, the team is now considering broadening their collection to incorporate titles that were originally only available on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 systems.

‘We Stand Ready’

Speaking about the release of modern console games through these ports, Larry Kuperman, Nightdive’s business development director, has expressed their readiness.

He continues by describing the steps taken to develop these ports and ensure classic games remain accessible for contemporary players. This usually begins with a series of inquiries.

Was the game only released on Xbox 360, or was there a PC version as well? Knowing this would impact preservation efforts, given the limited resources available. Do we possess the original source code? If so, how good is its condition? The same question applies to the assets. These factors are crucial in our considerations.

In contrast, matters become more intricate for games produced by studios that no longer exist, given the high number of studios that faced difficulties during that period of gaming production. For instance, Kick cites the unsuccessful first-person shooter game Haze, which was initially developed for the PS3, to illustrate this point.

We plan on speaking with the creators directly, expressing our disappointment that it didn’t perform as well as expected. I imagine they’ve had plenty of time to reflect and contemplate about potential improvements.” (Kick says)

It seems they’ve consulted with some of the initial game creators about the remastered versions, allowing them an opportunity to address previous concerns and improve the games using today’s advanced technology; often, updated hardware can effectively resolve certain problems that were present in the initial versions.

As a gamer, I’ve found that bringing over and running PS3 games on other platforms isn’t always straightforward, given the distinctive system structure of the PlayStation 3. This architecture posed challenges for developers back when the console was first released, and it seems Nightdive Studios is up for the task to make it happen smoothly.

Kick points out that he finds the architecture challenging, recalling the initial discussion when the system was launched about its complexity for developers to understand – and this, he notes, is a significant issue due to compatibility problems with older versions.”

To explain further, Kick recalls how difficult it was for developers to grasp the PS3’s architecture when it first came out. He also highlights that the original PS3 model handled PS2 backwards compatibility by integrating physical PS2 hardware directly onto the motherboard of the PS3, demonstrating its incompatibility with older consoles.

Even so, he remains confident that their studio possesses the necessary expertise to create a satisfactory PS3 remaster. This confidence is bolstered by their unique in-house engine.

At the moment, Nightdive Studios continues to work on the remaster of System Shock 2 and are also navigating through a “fairly intricate” process regarding System Shock 3, which is experiencing some complexities at present.

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2025-04-01 21:09