17 Years Later, Xbox 360 Game Returns This August as Timed Xbox Series X Exclusive

May 28, 2026, 12:50pm

An Xbox 360 exclusive from 2009 is set to return August 20, 17 years later, as a timed Xbox Series X console exclusive game. The return of the Xbox 360 game will also include releases on Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PS4, and PS5, but these versions won’t arrive until October 29. Meanwhile, there will also be a PC version available on August 20 alongside the Xbox Series X version. There is no word of any release on the Xbox One.

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Back on October 15, 2009, developers 5pb and Nitroplus released a sci-fi visual novel game called Steins;Gate, a follow-up to 2008’s Chaos;Head. The game eventually went multi-platform, but at launch, it was an Xbox 360 exclusive, and this didn’t change for two years. In 2019, a remake of this game was released for a variety of platforms. Now, seven years after this, another remake is being released, but this second remake is also being pitched as a sort of reboot of the game. Fittingly, it is called Steins;Gate RE:BOOT, which will cost $60. If you have deja vu, it is because this August 20 date was confirmed for the remake in Japan; now it has been confirmed for the West. The difference is, though, that in Japan it’s being released on all platforms at the same time.

An Underrated Gem From Another Era

Steins;Gate is a niche game from a niche series, but it’s not due to a lack of quality that it is nice, as evidenced by its 87 on Metacritic. And as you would expect from a niche multi-game series, it has a hardcore fanbase keeping it going. To this end, the game has the highest rating you can earn on Steam, an “Overwhelmingly Positive” rating, which is thanks to a 95% approval rating across more than 5,000 user reviews.

It is unclear why the game is launching as an Xbox Series X console exclusive, other than perhaps it being a nod to the original. Sometimes, when a deal is worked with Xbox for timed exclusivity, it comes with an inclusion of Xbox Game Pass, but right now, there is no word of the remake being available with Xbox Game Pass at launch.

As for what is new with this remake, Mages — which is handling the remake — claims there are updated visuals, a new UI, and a “revitalized” story. It remains to be seen what the latter includes and how different the story is. This will likely determine how receptive fans of the series are to the remake.

All of that said, and as always, feel free to leave a comment or two letting us know what you think, or join the video game conversations happening over on the ComicBook Forum.