THQ Nordic has announced that Gothic, the classic fantasy RPG’s remake will enter full production.Â
Gothic initially launched in 2001 for Microsoft Windows. It was developed by the German company “Piranha Bytes” and published in Europe by THQ.
THQ announced bankruptcy in 2013 and eventually sold its properties, including South Park: The Stick of Truth and the publishing rights to the Metro franchise. In 2014, a relatively unknown studio, Nordic, acquired the THQ trademark. Then in 2016, to better associate themselves with THQ, they renamed themselves THQ Nordic.
Cut to December 2019; THQ Nordic releases a ‘playable teaser’ for a remake of the classic game, Gothic. They announced today that after “unambiguous feedback” to the teaser, they will go ahead with the development of a full remake. Over 180,000 people played the teaser, and over 43,000 players answered the survey. From the survey, 94.8% of players were in favor of a full remake.
What’s next?
THQ Nordic will open a new development studio in Barcelona to continue the game, which will be available for PC and next-gen consoles. THQ Nordic said that they would also take feedback on board, including “the demand for a grittier and less colorful world.” Gothic was originally criticized for its “convoluted and crude” controls. In THQ’s survey, however, most participants rated the control system 4/5 – a vast improvement to the original game.
Reinhard Pollice, the Business and Product Development Director at THQ Nordic, said:
We are up for the challenge to develop a full Gothic Remake which will stay as faithfully as possible to the original experience and transport the atmospheric world of Gothic into a high quality look and carefully modernizing certain gameplay mechanics.
There is no release date estimated for the Gothic Remake yet, but they have confirmed it won’t release in 2020.
Have you tried the playable teaser for the Gothic Remake? What did you think? Let us know down in the comments below!