One of the most wishlisted RPGs of the year has arrived. As Summer Game Fest weekend kicked off, THQ Nordic rolled out the release trailer for the Gothic 1 Remake, confirming that Alkimia Interactive's ground-up reimagining of the 2001 cult classic is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
Built from scratch in Unreal Engine 5, the remake returns players to the Colony — the prison valley sealed off from the rest of the world by a magical barrier. You once again step into the boots of the Nameless Hero, thrown into a penal settlement where rival camps vie for power and the only way out is through.
Faithful bones, modern muscle
Alkimia has preserved the story structure, the open-ended progression and the prickly, lived-in atmosphere that made the original a landmark for European RPGs, while overhauling nearly everything you touch. Combat, animation, quest presentation and the moody Valley of Mines have all been rebuilt to modern standards, and the studio has leaned hard into the grim, oppressive tone that defined Piranha Bytes' original.
A long road to the Colony
The remake has been in the works for years, with a well-received Nyras Prologue demo helping win back a famously protective fanbase. With the full game now live across PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, the question shifts from “will they get it right” to “how far up the 2026 RPG rankings can it climb.” On the evidence of the release trailer's revamped visuals, the answer could be: pretty far.
