Dead and Forgotten Xbox One Game Makes Unexpected Return

An Xbox One game that was previously dead and forgotten by the world has made a rather unexpected return. The game in question was notably an Xbox One console exclusive when it released in 2017. And it never did come to PlayStation or Nintendo consoles, perhaps because it quickly died and was forgotten by an industry constantly moving forward. In 2017, you were probably busy playing games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Horizon Zero Dawn, PUBG, Persona 5, What Remains of Edith Finch, Resident Evil 7, Hellblade, Cuphead, Nier Automata, Prey, Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, Destiny 2, Assassin's Creed Origins, and the many other great games that released that year. What you probably didn't play was Gigantic. If this is the case, you will get another chance to play it this year. 

Released on July 20, 2017 by developer Motiga and publisher Perfect World Entertainment, Gigantic is a MOBA strategic third-person shooter that shut down its servers in 2018 because not enough people were playing the game. Despite this, the game is now being revived by developer Abstraction and Borderlands-maker Gearbox, who is publishing the revival. The return is set to be under the name  Gigantic: Rampage Edition, which will be the "premium and definitive release" of the online game, which means no free-to-play microtransactions. It is set to release on April 19, at the price point of $19.99, via not just Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC like you would expect, but PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch as well.

"The original Gigantic game from Motiga maintained a passionate and loyal community that kept the spirit of the game alive throughout all these years," said Gearbox Publishing San Francisco president Yoon Im about the news. "It was through all of their excitement coupled with our desire to bring Gigantic back one day that we are thrilled to finally confirm we're bringing back and making it better than ever with Gigantic: Rampage Edition. It's a fun refresh of the original game with new maps, new heroes, and best of all, there are no microtransactions. Players can jump in and play, and unlock all of the game's content just by playing and making progress over time. To our dedicated fans who never gave up on Gigantic, thank you for all of the support! To new players who love hero shooters and MOBAs, we hope to see you on the airship!"

Nobody had this game returning on their 2024 bingo card. It is certainly one of the most unexpected announcements so far this year. Meanwhile, only time will tell if it is the right call. It is hard to imagine the game having more relevancy in 2024 than it did when it came out in 2017, when MOBAs were more popular, but clearly some executives somewhere disagree.