‘We’re terribly sorry’: The heavily criticised XIII remake is getting a remake

The heavily criticised remake of 2003 first-person shooter XIII will receive a major update later this year, alongside the release of a new Switch version, publisher Microids has said.

Originally developed by PlayMagic, the PS4, Xbox One and PC remake shipped in 2020 with numerous bugs and changes to the game’s iconic cel-shaded art style which fans weren’t happy with.

The game was the second worst reviewed title of 2020, according to review aggregation site Metacritic.

Microids and PlayMagic apologised for the state of the game in November 2020 and said they were committed to fixing its issues.

This week, Microids said it has hired a different studio to overhaul XIII so that players can “enjoy the game as [originally] intended”.

It said French studio Tower Five (Lornsword: Winter Chronicle) has been working on a significant free title update for over a year.

“The development studio reworked the entire game from the art direction to the AI and added numerous technical improvements,” Microids said.

In addition to the update, Tower Five has been working on XIII’s online multiplayer mode, which will support 2-13 players, and a newly announced Switch version of the game (pictured), all of which will be released on September 13, 2022.

“We are fully aware and terribly sorry that the initial launch of XIII Remake on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC did not reach players’ expected quality standards,” said Microids CEO Stéphane Longeard.

“A bit more than a year ago we took the decision to hire the studio Tower Five to finish the development of the game. Tower Five worked with us in the past, notably on the great port of Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders on Nintendo Switch.

“We really wanted to take the time to fix the game and offer owners of XIII Remake a free update paying the best possible tribute to the original game we all love.

“The Nintendo Switch version of the game will of course benefit from all the work done to improve the game as well as the multiplayer mode, which will mark the end of the game’s development,” Longeard continued.

“We can’t wait for players to put their hands on this improved version of the game and (re)discover the classic adventures of Agent XIII, as soon as it’s released after the Summer.”