Xbox has become the place to be for RPGs over the past several years, and now it’s made the 2020 remaster of a very important RPG free to purchase and own.
wasteland Remastered is Free on Xbox
Interplay’s Wasteland may not hold as much weight today as it once did in the late 80s and 90s, but its importance to the RPG genre can’t be understated. One of the earliest post-apocalyptic RPGs, Wasteland became the primary influence behind Fallout, which has gone on to become one of the most successful video game franchises ever under Bethesda. Without the original Wasteland, it’s possible that Fallout might not have ever been created.
Xbox’s inXile Entertainment, which is made up of veteran ex-Interplay developers led by industry legend Brian Fargo, released an impressive remaster of Wasteland in 2020 in order to celebrate the game’s 30th anniversary. The remaster helped gamers get up to speed on the series, preparing them for the release of Wasteland 3 later that year.
It’s also available on Xbox Game Pass
The six-year-old remaster of the nearly 40-year-old RPG has suddenly been made available at no cost for Xbox gamers. There’s no telling how long the offer will stay live, so RPG fans on Xbox who have yet to try Wasteland Remastered should jump on the opportunity, as Interplay’s 1988 classic normally costs $15.
It’s worth noting that Wasteland Remastered is also available as part of Xbox Game Pass’ Ultimate tier, as Xbox took ownership of the IP when it acquired inXile Entertainment in 2018, and all first-party Xbox games live on Game Pass indefinitely. It would still be worth claiming free ownership of the classic RPG even though it’ll never leave Xbox’s subscription service.
could this be a Wasteland 4 tease?
Exactly why Xbox decided to make Wasteland Remastered free is a complete mystery. None of the three games in the series are celebrating any sort of important anniversary, and the other games aren’t on sale either. As for the possibility of promoting a new game, inXile hasn’t confirmed that it’s working on a fourth Wasteland game, and making Wasteland Remastered free on Xbox wouldn’t exactly be the best way to hint toward that, especially considering the fact that games go on sale or are offered for free on Xbox all the time without any particular reasoning.
The only inXile project that has officially been revealed is its first-person steampunk RPG, Clockwork Revolution, which has had impressive showings at several of Xbox’s most recent Summer Game Fest showcases. Rumors originally pinned Clockwork for a 2026 release, but with so many other major first-party Xbox games looking to release this year, like Fable, Gears of War: E-Day, and Halo: Campaign Evolved, inXile may be looking at a 2027 drop. However, inXile is very likely working on another game, and with Clockwork Revolution seemingly approaching the end of its development cycle, perhaps inXile is gearing up to announce the next game it’s been working on which very well could turn out to be Wasteland 4, though this is simply a rumor. In the meantime, Xbox gamers can enjoy the RPG that helped create Fallout for free.
Wasteland Remasterd is available on Xbox One and PC.
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