Xbox game we all thought dead finally returning after 20 years

Somehow, an Xbox game that died around 20 years ago has returned, and you’ll be able to play it soon.

It’s always a nice surprise to see a game thought to be long gone crawl out the woodwork, like Metroid Dread, which went through years of changes and restarts until it eventually got released for the Nintendo Switch.

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This time around, it’s a long-forgotten Xbox game that’s got a new lease on life, Captain Blood, which was supposed to be released around 20 years ago for the original Xbox console.

It was planned to be a hack-and-slash game but with a pirate theme, and while development was going relatively well, things quickly changed direction and development shifted to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Unfortunately, it came to an abrupt end when the game was unexpectedly cancelled.

However prepare for a plot twist, as publisher SNEG recently announced that Captain Blood will be released for the Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and PC later this year, and while graphically it looks like a game from the 2010s, it’s been modernised to work on current-gen hardware.

Speaking about the upcoming release, SNEG said it’s "excited to bring it back, combining its original glory with a series of modern improvements for today's gamers."

Why exactly this title was brought back from the dead is beyond us, but it’s nice to see it finally see the light of day after its stint in development hell.

Hopefully this leads to a few other hidden gems finally getting their chance to shine, especially if this upcoming release performs well.

So if you’re a fan of hack-and-slash games or game preservation in general, keep an eye out for Captain Blood’s official release date.