Freedom Wars Remastered Announced

Bandai Namco announced this week that Freedom Wars is being remastered for modern platforms to celebrate its 10th anniversary. These platforms include the current PlayStation consoles, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

What is Freedom Wars?

Originally released in 2014 on the PS Vita, Freedom Wars is a sci-fi action RPG developed by Dimps Corporation and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, now Sony Interactive Entertainment. Set in a dystopian future where humans live in city-states called Panopticons, players control prisoners forced to fight in combat missions to reduce their million-year sentences. The gameplay focuses on fast-paced, third-person action with a mix of melee, ranged weapons, and a unique grappling mechanic called “thorns.”

Freedom Wars became a cult classic on the PS Vita, praised for delivering a “console-quality” experience on the handheld. Currently sitting at a 73 on Metacritic, the game sold around 300,000 copies in Japan, though global sales figures are harder to pinpoint. It’s exciting to see this unique title from PlayStation’s past return.

A New Coat of Paint

According to a Bandai Namco press release, Freedom Wars Remastered will feature enhancements like 4K resolution, improved textures, 60fps performance on PlayStation and PC, an overhauled weapon crafting system, and new difficulty settings. The remaster also supports four-player online co-op and single-player with AI companions. While there is no cross-play between platforms, PS4 and PS5 players can play together. Notably, no Xbox Series X|S version has been announced.

Interestingly, the remaster’s development began when Dimps Corporation and the original director, Takashi Tsukamoto, approached Sony Interactive Entertainment to acquire the license. After securing the license, they partnered with Bandai Namco for publishing, while SIE retains ownership.

Freedom Wars Remastered launches on January 10th, 2025, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC/Steam, including all previously released DLC. You can check out the reveal trailer here. Will you be picking it up?