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Painkiller is getting rebooted by 3D Realms & Anshar Studios later this year

Saber Interactive announced Painkiller's return at the latest Future Games Show.

Ozzie Mejia

March 20, 2025 4:00 PM

Saber Interactive

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The golden age of PC first-person shooters was filled with dozens of memorable titles. Among them was Painkiller, originally created in 2004 by People Can Fly. It appears that enough time has passed that a reboot is in order. Saber Interactive's 3D Realms label, along with developer Anshar Studios, will be bringing Painkiller back for a modern audience and it looks like it'll be ready for release later this year.

Announced during Thursday's Future Games Show, Painkiller will take players to Purgatory. Shortly after his eternal judgment was passed, the main character has received one final opportunity for redemption, but it'll mean facing impossible odds against the fallen angel Azazel. Fortunately, those odds are a little better through the usage of heavy weaponry and possibly with some friends.

The new Painkiller will rely on recognizable series weapons, classic traversal mechanics, and arena combat filled with horrifying demons. Anshar Studios will look to keep things fresh with four distinct characters with unique perks, modern level design, and some new mechanics like tarot cards that will upgrade various abilities. While it's possible to play alone, the new Painkiller will also open the door to online co-op with two other players. Those who don't have friends can opt to play with bots instead.

What's interesting about Thursday's announcement is that it's not the first time that Saber has attempted to reboot the Painkiller series. Back in 2021, the publisher announced another Painkiller reboot with the folks at Koch Media's Prime Matter. Nothing ultimately came of that, though "The New Painkiller" is curiously still listed over on the Prime Matter website.

The invasion of Earth will kick off later in 2025. Painkiller is set to release on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?