Banking on the past
Video games are one of the most lucrative forms of modern media, raking in billions of dollars every year. But after the industry rapidly grew during the onset of the covid-19 pandemic, 2024 has seen record layoffs and studio shutterings. As game makers reckon with the future of the industry, they’re turning to the past, mining it for guaranteed gold that they can bring out and polish again: remakes.
Remakes, remasters, and reboots are all technically different, but fall under the same basic umbrella: nostalgia. If video games were cars, think of a remaster as a fresh coat of paint, a remake as a brand-new engine, and a reboot as a totally new look and vibe but sporting the same name. All three game types have skyrocketed in popularity the last several years, selling millions of copies and raking in billions of dollars.
7 million: Copies of Resident Evil 4 Remake sold in less than a year.
~30: Old games set to re-release in remastered or remade forms by the end of 2024.
<4 years: Between the release of The Last of Us Part II and The Last of Us Part II Remaster.
$184 billion: Estimated global video game revenue for 2023.
Over 8,800: Layoffs in the video game industry since the start of 2024.
11-20 years: The best time to reboot a game, according to industry experts.
Alyssa’s picks
Recommended remasters, remakes, and reboots
Remasters: Think of these like a fresh coat of paint on an older Chevrolet Camaro
- Mass Effect Legendary Edition
- Halo Master Chief Collection
- Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2
Remakes: Think of these as swapping a new engine into your Camaro — optimizing it
- Resident Evil 4
- Final Fantasy 7 Remake/Rebirth
- Dead Space
Reboots: Think of these as an entirely reimagined Camaro, with the same name and ethos, but a new vibe
Listen up!
The games you loved once? Get ready to spend money on them a second time.
Quartz Obsession podcast host Gabriela Riccardi and Kotaku’s senior editor Alyssa Mercante talk about why improved is better than new (at least for the pockets of the gaming industry) in season 7, episode 5— Video game remakes: Revival of the fittest.
🎧 Listen now on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora
👓 Or, read the transcript
Fun fact
Square Enix is in the midst of a huge reboot of a ‘90s game that takes the original title (Final Fantasy 7) and splits it into three massive, open-world games. The first two (Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth) have already launched, and a third, unnamed game is yet to come.
Pop quiz
How many copies of Final Fantasy 7 Remake were sold in just three days?
A. 1.8 million
B. 2.7 million
C. 3.1 million
D. 3.5 million
Get your hands on the answer at the bottom of this email.
Brief history
1972: The Magnavox Odyssey, the first video game console, ships.
1985: Super Mario Bros., the first game in what would be Nintendo’s most recognizable franchise, debuts.
1997: Final Fantasy 7 releases for the original PlayStation. The game would later be rebooted into a massive trilogy.
2020: Final Fantasy 7 Remake releases on PlayStation 4.
2024: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, the second game in the trilogy, releases for PS5.
Fun fact!
Resident Evil 4 Remake was (somewhat controversially) nominated for Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2023.
Watch this!
Comparing The Last of Us Part 1 remastered versus the remake
The Last of Us Part 1 came out in 2013, and a remastered version dropped not too long after. But then, a PS5 version that was also considered a remake, came out in 2022. This video compares the two.
Poll
What sounds the most enticing to you? A remake, a reboot, or a remaster?
- Remake
- Reboot
- Remaster
- None! Give me something new.
Pause what you’re doing and take our 1-question survey!
💬 Let’s talk!
In last week’s poll about green steel, nearly half of you (49%) said you hope we’ll figure out green air travel next, while 28% of you want more electric car chargers, and 23% of you want the fashion industry to get cleaner.
🤔 What did you think of today’s email?
💡 What should we obsess over next?
Today’s email was written by Alyssa Mercante (who accidentally dressed like a Fallout character today) and edited and produced by Morgan Haefner (is more of a video game watcher than player).
The correct answer to the pop quiz is D. Developer Square Enix reported just three days after Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s release that it had sold over 3.5 million copies of the game.