21 years after launching on PC, Kingpin: Life of Crime will make its console debut in 2020
If you had been placing bets on which decades-old game would be in for a remaster next, we doubt you’d have picked Kingpin: Life of Crime. But apparently the Cypress Hill-scored gangster FPS will be coming back in 2020 on PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch.
It’ll be called Kingpin Reloaded and developer 3D Realms made the announcement on Twitter for PAX South 2020 alongside a very limited trailer which, if anything, tells you that there’s only so much a remaster can offer on a game this old.
Related: Best PC games
The character models certainly retain a 90s heft that many first-person shooters of that era had (remember SiN, Blood 2 and Soldier of Fortune?) though 3D Realms has highlighted a number of improvements in the trailer. It’ll run in 4K at 60fps with ultrawide support, for a start, as well as offering an “enhanced mode” with graphical improvements. The screenshot below gives you an idea of how that’ll change things.
On top of this, it’ll apparently be “re-balanced and polished” and include a new quest system, which may make things a little less linear than you’d expect from a shooter of that era. We’ll just have to wait and see when it launches on PC, Xbox One, PS4 and Switch later this year.
Related: Best upcoming Switch games
Given the game was a PC-only affair 21 years ago when it was originally released, it’s probably the latter three which are of more interest. Though how interesting the game will prove to be in general is an open question. While the title attracted generally positive reviews at the time, the first-person shooter genre has come a long, long way since the 1990s, and Kingpin may well prove to be a creature of its time.
No release date yet, though we’re told it’ll be out this year. That said, this is 3D Realms – the studio that originally announced Duke Nukem Forever in 1997, before finally releasing it in 2011…
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
