Since its release on the Nintendo GameCube in 2002, Silicon Knights' Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem has become a cult classic and one of the most popular third-party games on the console. Despite consistent rumors throughout the years of Eternal Darkness making a return on multiple consoles, ranging from the Wii U to the Switch, the iconic Gamecube game has never been re-released outside its original platform. Now, Nightdive Studios, a developer known for its remasters of classic games, has come out to place some of the blame for the game's obscurity on Nintendo itself.
Nintendo has come under fire in recent years for the company's relatively lax stance on game preservation, with Eternal Darkness playing no small part in the criticisms against the company. The company's actions relating to piracy have been criticized by many within the gaming community as actively harming the preservation of gaming history, particularly concerning the recently announced closure of the 3DS and Wii U eShops. In a recent discussion related to Nintendo's anti-piracy actions, Nightdive Studios CEO Stephen Kick spoke out about Nintendo's relationship with third-party developers.
Nightdive CEO Stephen Kick references his studio's experience working with Nintendo in the past, explaining that Nintendo has often been "gun shy" when working with third-party developers. Nightdive has approached Nintendo about remastering several of the company's older games, with Kick confirming that Eternal Darkness is at the top of his personal list of remasters for the studio. The studio has made a name for itself in recent years through several remasters of Nintendo 64-era games, such as the Turok series and the 2020 re-release of Doom 64.
While Eternal Darkness saw significant success for Nintendo, winning several awards following its launch, the series fell dormant after several years of uncertainty surrounding its future. A sequel was originally rumored to be in development by Silicon Knights for several years before the project was ultimately canceled, and rumors of an Eternal Darkness sequel on both Wii U and Nintendo Switch never materialized. A remake or sequel of Eternal Darkness would be the first release the popular horror game has seen in nearly two decades.
Whether an Eternal Darkness remake comes to be or not, the game will remain as an iconic piece of gaming history. Clearly, fans are not the only ones that are continuing to wait for its return, and hopefully Stephen Kick's recent push for an Eternal Darkness remaster will lead to Nintendo doing something more with the IP.
Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem is available now for the Nintendo GameCube.