| Wipeout HD | |
|---|---|
 Cover art for the retail version | |
| Developer(s) | Studio Liverpool |
| Publisher(s) | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| Series | Wipeout |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita (as DLC for Wipeout 2048) |
| Release | PlayStation Network
|
| Genre(s) | Racing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Wipeout HD is a 2008 futuristic racing video game developed by Studio Liverpool and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3, the eighth installment of the Wipeout series and the first on this platform. It was originally released digitally on the PlayStation Network in September 2008, before a major expansion pack titled Wipeout HD Fury came in July 2009, followed by a retail version made available in Europe in October that year.
The game revolves around players competing in the FX350 anti-gravity racing league, and features selected tracks from its predecessing PlayStation Portable games Wipeout Pure and Wipeout Pulse, although the content has been upgraded to render 1080p visuals in 60 frames per second, and supports stereoscopic 3D. Wipeout HD was developed by Studio Liverpool, who had desired to release a game for the PlayStation Store to stress that downloadable content was not reserved for smaller games. The game was delayed for a few months due to reports of it failing epilepsy tests.
Wipeout HD and its expansion pack received positive reviews upon release. Critics unanimously praised the game's 1080p visuals, smooth frame rate, and techno soundtrack – a feature many critics recognised as a hallmark of the Wipeout series. The game received controversy over its in-game advertising at the time of the Fury expansion pack's release, with many players complaining of extended loading times due to in-game advertisements. Wipeout HD, along with its Fury expansion pack, was also chosen as a free offering as part of Sony's "Welcome Back" programme due to the 2011 PlayStation Network outage. The expanded Fury version and the subsequent Wipeout 2048 were remastered for PlayStation 4 and released as Wipeout Omega Collection in 2017.[1]
- ^ Massongill, Justin (6 June 2017). "Wipeout Omega Collection Launches Today". PlayStation Blog. Sony Interactive Entertainment. Retrieved 19 August 2022.