Phantom Dust was originally going to be a full fledged reboot of the cult classic Xbox original. But the project was notably canceled, and was downgraded into what became an HD remaster of the original game. That HD remaster was released without much fanfare earlier this week on Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs- although it was also released for free.
Depending on how this totally free (albeit unmarketed) remaster does, there may be a chance that Microsoft does more with the Phantom Dust brand. At least, that’s what Publishing Director Adam Isgreen said during a live stream on Twitch.
“Originally, we were working on a remake for Phantom Dust. So, here’s the deal: the more people play this version of Phantom Dust, the more people you can get to play…Just play multiplayer, get your friends to play.
“That makes the conversation about doing more with Phantom Dust in the future super easy. And that’s the only thing I’ll ask of the fanbase of the game, just play. Play multiplayer! Get more people to experience the game. That’s all I need.
“Easy conversation for me to say “Hey, we want to do more of Phantom Dust”. And it makes it super easy for the people I work for, Phil [Spencer] and everybody else, to say “Okay, get to it”. So I guess that’s the catch. When we released the game, people said “Is it going to be free? Where’s the catch?” We want to do more of Phantom Dust, that’s the catch! Play it. Maybe we’ll even figure out how to put new levels, new characters into this game. We’re going to try. No promises.”
That’s… a fair ask. Play this game, which is totally free, so we know there is an interest in the brand. I can’t fault Microsoft for this one. That said, maybe some marketing for it might have helped?
Phantom Dust HD is available now on Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs.