The Thing (video game)

The Thing
North American Xbox cover art
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)
Director(s)
  • William Latham
  • Mark Atkinson
Producer(s)Chris Hadley
Designer(s)Andrew Curtis
Programmer(s)
  • Diarmid Campbell
  • Mark Atkinson
Artist(s)Joel Smith
Composer(s)Keith Tinman
Platform(s)
Remaster
ReleaseMicrosoft Windows
Xbox
PlayStation 2
  • NA: September 10, 2002[4]
  • EU: September 20, 2002[1]
Remaster Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
  • WW: Late 2024
Genre(s)Third-person shooter, survival horror
Mode(s)Single-player

The Thing is a 2002 squad-based third-person shooter survival horror video game developed by Computer Artworks and co-published by Vivendi Universal Games under the Black Label Games label and Konami.[5] It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance versions were also planned, but both were cancelled early in development. A remastered version will be released in late 2024.[6]

Set as a sequel to John Carpenter's 1982 film of the same name, the story focuses on Captain Blake, a member of a United States Army Special Forces team sent to the Antarctic outpost featured in the film to determine what has happened to the research team, only to find himself caught in an invisible fight for survival against the titular shape-shifting alien, who seemingly has regained life despite being destroyed at the end of the film. Other survivors encountered and ordered by Blake assist the battle against the creature's different forms, all while being fully aware that they can trust nobody. The game was endorsed by Carpenter,[7] who has a cameo appearance in the game.[8]

The Thing was a commercial success; selling over one million units worldwide across all platforms, and received generally positive reviews. A sequel was in the early stages of development, but was canceled when Computer Artworks went into receivership in 2003.

  1. ^ a b c "The Thing". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
  2. ^ "The Thing (PC)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  3. ^ "The Thing (Xbox)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  4. ^ "The Thing (PS2)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on October 8, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  5. ^ "VU Creates Black Label Games". IGN. August 13, 2002. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  6. ^ Zwiezen, Zack (June 7, 2024). "That PS2-Era Thing Game Is Getting A Fancy Remaster". Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  7. ^ "The Thing 2: The Best Video Game Never Made", Halloween Love, January 14, 2014, retrieved May 13, 2021
  8. ^ "Based on the Hit Film - Replaying 'The Thing' Video Game", Bloody Disgusting, April 18, 2018, archived from the original on May 5, 2022, retrieved May 13, 2021