EA follows word from
last month on
plans for
Command & Conquer remasters
by
announcing details about how this return to the real-time strategy series
will work. It seems hard to find a complaint about a plan that involves
reworking both
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn and
Command & Conquer:
Red Alert with all its expansions. They say these remakes will include no
microtransactions, and development will be handled by Petroglyph Games, so this
involves many of the original C&C developers from Westwood Studios. Here's the
plan:
Fellow Command & Conquer fans,
A month ago, we let the Command & Conquer™ community know we were bringing the
franchise back to the PC, starting with a remaster initiative. The reaction from
fans has been amazing, with many of you sharing your favorite C&C moments from
the past 23 years. We have been reading these comments and listening intently.
And now, we are ready to reveal our first PC offering and how your suggestions
are already influencing our approach.
Today, I’m thrilled to tell you we are going back to the beginning. We have
decided to remaster Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn. And while this is
incredibly exciting on its own, we’re also aware of how passionate the community
is about the Red Alert universe. So, we will also remaster the original Command
& Conquer: Red Alert™. But what about the classic expansion packs you may ask -
Covert Ops, Counterstrike, and Aftermath? Well, C&C and Red Alert wouldn’t be
the same without them, so all three expansion packs will be bundled with the
base games into one remastered collection - without microtransactions.
In addition to the excitement and support of this remaster initiative over the
past month, there has also been a healthy skepticism that we can pull this off.
How are we possibly going to remaster these titles while maintaining the
authenticity of the original experiences? Bottom line, there is no better way to
achieve this than to partner with some of the talented developers who brought
these original games to life.
So, after years of the fans asking for their involvement, I am humbled to
announce that EA is going to partner with Petroglyph Games to develop the C&C
remastered collection.
Petroglyph Games includes many of the original developers from Westwood Studios,
and some of the most influential members of the original Command & Conquer
development team from 1995. Joe Bostic is known as the co-creator of C&C, having
also served as the Lead Programmer on Tiberian Dawn and Red Alert. Steve Tall
joined Joe as a Lead Programmer on Red Alert, and Mike Legg contributed to all
forms of audio systems at Westwood, having been an employee since 1986! All
three members helped start Petroglyph Games in 2003 after the closure of
Westwood and are joined by a veteran group of RTS developers from the past 15+
years. And don’t think we haven’t noticed the #1 request from the community in
all the comments from the past month... You want Frank Klepacki. So as a cherry
on top for the fans, we are thrilled to announce that Frank will be re-joining
Petroglyph Games to be our Composer and Audio Director for the remaster
collection!
On a personal note, I can tell you the past few weeks have been surreal. During
my first visit to Petroglyph, I was able to brainstorm “C&C feel” with Joe, sit
with Frank and hear him recite Commando lines, and gab with Steve about whether
we should fix the Tib Dawn Harvester AI. Getting to chat C&C with the original
developers has been one of the highlights of my gamer journey, and I can’t wait
for all the incredible conversations to come.
In addition to the fantastic team at Petroglyph, we will also be partnering with
Lemon Sky Studios to help bring these original games to 4k glory. Lemon Sky is
one of the premier art studios around the world, with a unique specialty in
remastering classic RTS titles. After meeting their team and hearing their
passion for C&C, we are incredibly lucky to have them team up with Petroglyph to
develop the highest quality C&C possible.
The exciting part is that we haven’t started development yet. The community is
literally getting in on the ground floor of this project and have every
opportunity to help influence how we build this remastered experience. Please
continue to engage on Reddit and community channels and help us create the best
possible remasters of C&C and Red Alert!
Welcome Back, Commander!
Jim Vessella