This decade is all about remakes and remasters, which is something EmbracerGroup appears to have learned as a surprise just recently. Their CEO Lars Wingefors mentioned during the company’s quarterly financial report that Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & Soul Reaver 2 Remastered has much higher pre-order sales than they initially expected.
EmbracerGroup, Aspyr’s parent company, unveiled the information on YouTube via their Q2 fiscal year 2025 report. Aspyr developed Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & Soul Reaver 2 Remastered. Here’s what Lars Wingefors had to say about the Legacy of Kain remasters:
“For the Legacy of Kain, Soul Reaver 1 and 2 Remastered, coming ready in December, that is performing on pre-ordering basis much stronger than expectations so far.”
Still, they didn’t reveal just how much it was performing and there were no numbers, only that the Legacy of Kain remasters performed well above their estimates (no matter how high or low). It’s worth noting that the first Soul Reaver came out in 1999 and undoubtedly, it hasn’t aged well.
That’s why fans of the franchise have been clamoring for either a remake or a remaster for decades. Now, the wait is almost over, as Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 and 2 Remastered will be released on December 10, 2024. The remaster will be sold as a bundle, thankfully.
As for the remaster’s quality itself, it’s more than just a graphical and audio upgrade. The team behind Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 and 2 Remastered also redesigned some of the bosses, including the final boss. They even added new and optional contemporary gaming features such as a Map and a Compass.
Legacy of Kain’s Legacy is Long and Troubled
Oddly enough, Soul Reaver wasn’t even the first and last game in the Legacy of Kain series. Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (1996) was the very first and what launched the franchise. The first Soul Reaver (1999) is the second game, followed by Soul Reaver 2 (2001) and then by Blood Omen 2 (2002) and Legacy of Kain: Defiance (2003).
Since then, the series has fizzled out of the mainstream, though as EmbracerGroup has reported, it retained many of its fans. It’s not clear what kind of effect Soul Reaver‘s financial success will have on possible remasters of Blood Omen and the other Legacy of Kain titles, but the franchise might just be slated for a revival if things go well.
