When Observer first released in 2017, one of the biggest selling points for the cyberpunk, psychological horror game was the inclusion of Blade Runner actor Rutger Hauer. The actor lent his likeness and performance to the game as Observer's protagonist, Daniel Lazarski. To celebrate the upcoming release of its expanded remaster, Observer: System Redux, Bloober Team released an edited interview with the late actor conducted during the original game's development.
Rutger Hauer passed away on July 19, 2019. While Observer was his first work in video games, he claims in the interview that he had previously contributed to two other canceled projects. Hauer later replaced Star Trek actor Leonard Nimoy as Master Xehanort in Kingdom Hearts 3, and the character was recast by Back to the Future actor Christopher Lloyd for Kingdom Hearts 3's ReMIND DLC.
Hauer is best known for his performance as Roy Batty in Ridley Scott's influential 1982 science-fiction film Blade Runner. Blade Runner has inspired many cyberpunk video games including Observer and CD Projekt Red's upcoming Cyberpunk 2077.
In the interview, Hauer shows an appreciation for the project, claiming his previous canceled video games were "in no way as good as this one," as well as complementing the developers at Bloober Team for their vision of the project. In releasing the first part of the interview, Bloober Team CEO Piotr Babineo said, "Rutger was a good friend and will be missed. It was hard hearing him and knowing that he is not with us, but in a way, being able to share his voice again felt special. This interview really shows the depth of passion he had in his role as Dan — he was a wonderful person, and we’re deeply sorry that he passed."
Observer: System Redux is an expanded re-release of the 2017 original featuring fully reworked visuals, remastered at 4K with ray-tracing. The game is exclusive to next-generation hardware and will be a launch title on both Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5, taking advantage of their capabilities and SSDs.
The game will also feature new story content in the form of expanded side-quests, which Bloober Team confirmed will feature archived dialogue recorded by Rutger Hauer during the original game's development. Observer: System Redux will cost $29.99 upon release, but owners of the original Observer on PC and Xbox One can upgrade to System Redux for 80% percent off by pre-ordering before October 20.
Observer: System Redux is the first of two titles planned from Bloober Team on next-generation consoles this year, as the studio is also developing the Xbox Series X/S console-exclusive horror game The Medium. Earlier this week, the studio revealed that The Medium will release on December 10 and be included in Xbox Game Pass.
Observer: System Redux will release on November 10 for PC and Xbox Series X/S, then on November 12 for PlayStation 5.