Skip to main content

3D Realms revives 1999 PC shooter Kingpin

Criminal.

3D Realms has announced Kingpin: Reloaded, a remaster of cult classic 1999 PC shooter Kingpin: Life of Crime.

Kingpin: Reloaded is described as a remastered, enhanced version of the original, co-published by 3D Realms and Interplay, and due out on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC later in 2020. Here's the official blurb:

"In a stylised noir art deco gangland that never was, the Kingpin rules above all else with a bloody fist. When his lieutenant Nikki Blanco leaves a no-name Thug battered and broken, the upstart criminal rises from a puddle of blood, lead pipe in hand and revenge in mind."

Here's the trailer:

Watch on YouTube

Expect 4K resolution, ultrawide support and improved graphics in Enhanced mode (Classic mode lets you play with the original visuals). There's controller support and new quest and conversation systems. The multiplayer Gang Bang mode is present and correct. No Violence mode gets rid of the violence, as you'd expect, but the swear-heavy dialogue the original was known for remains.

Kingpin was perhaps most famous for the controversy that surrounded it, particularly in the US. Its violence and profanity caught the attention of various congressmen, who debated the game on the floor of the US senate.

"Kingpin doesn't get the recognition it deserves, due to unfortunately releasing in an era when games were blamed for societal problems," said Frederik Schreiber, founder of the current version of 3D Realms. "We have the privilege of giving it a second chance for people who never heard of it, and sprucing it up for diehard fans yearning to go back to a life of (simulated!) crime."

Here's some footage of the original:

Watch on YouTube

Read this next