Surprise! Freedom Fighters re-release out now on PC [Update]
The classic Freedom Fighters has returned.
Update: Following the rating board leak from earlier today, IO Interactive has made it official. Freedom Fighters has returned in a re-release available right now on GOG, and soon to hit Steam and the Epic Games Store.
The new digital-only version is exactly the same as the original, just designed to run on modern operating systems. There doesn't appear to be any enhancements to mechanics or even presentation.
The re-release does, however, include the game's full soundtrack. It comes with 16 tracks, as well as two bonus tracks never-before-included. Your purchase will also come with the original PC manual. The game is available for $10 for its first week on sale, a 30% discount.
What's more, it looks like the re-release is setting up future news about Freedom Fighters. In a blog post, IO revealed a new Twitter handle where future announcements will be shared.
You can read the original story below.
Original story: The Pan European Game Information office has re-rated the PC version of Freedom Fighters, IO Interactive's classic third-person shooter. Today's PC rating joins the existing ones for PS2, Xbox, GameCube and the original PC release.
PEGI's official website also has the game listed for release today, with the biggest notable change being IO Interactive as the publisher, and not EA as with the existing ratings. The rating itself has not changed, however; this is still a PEGI-16 game.
In 2017, when publisher Square Enix dropped IO Interactive, the developer became independent shortly afterwards, and announced that it had acquired the rights to Hitman and Freedom Fighters from its former owner.
Though IO missed out on Mini Ninjas and Kane & Lynch in the process, the fact it wanted to pick up Freedom Fighters at all signalled that it may not be done with the classic IP. Of course, there's been no news on that front since that split.
The emergence of a new rating today indicates that IO is working on a re-releasing the game, possibly as a remaster of some sort. Although the name of the product recently rated by PEGI doesn't include the words "remake" or "remaster", it's safe to say that we can at least expect the game to remerge in some way soon.
In recent years, IO indicated that it's open to working on more beyond Hitman. Indeed, the studio is getting ready to ship Hitman 3 in January, the conclusion to its rebooted trilogy. Perhaps Freedom Fighters is due for a reboot of its own next.