TheWolfensteinfranchise is one of the longest running series in gaming, with the first game being released in 1981. But it wasn’t until 1992 withWolfenstein3Dthat the series found its true foundation as a first-person shooter, which is a genre thatWolfensteinis often credited with pioneering. The series has been rebooted multiple times since then, both successfully and unsuccessfully. The most recent reboot came in 2014 withWolfenstein: The New Order.
The current canon of games moves the story forward from its World War 2 shooter roots and into adystopian future where the Nazis are in power. But before that, there were many games made by many developers, which took full advantageWolfenstein’s original WW2 setting.
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Now one such game is finally getting a release on Steam. First launched in 2003 and developed by Splash Damage,Wolfenstein: Enemy Territoryis aclass-based multiplayer shooter in the same vein asOverwatchorTeam Fortress. What made the game stand out, though, was its relatively massive matches for 2003, which allowed for 32 players at once. The free-to-play game was originally meant to be a multiplayer DLC for the previous game,Return to Castle Wolfenstein, which was developed by Gray Matter Interactive. The game was instead released as a standalone and was very well received. It even got a pseudo-sequel game outside theWolfensteinbrand a few years later namedEnemy Territory: Quake Wars.
The game has still been available to play on other platforms, and the original developer’s website has detailed instructions on how the game can be played on modern PCs. But now that the game has released on Steam, it’s likely that the existingWolfenstein: Enemy Territoryplayer base will migrate over there. The Steam release could also bring in a bump of new players to the game who missed it the first-time round or players who wish to revisit some nostalgic 2003 multiplayer shooting.
As for why the game is only now getting a Steam release after 19 years, this could be due toBethesda closing its game launcherand transitioning its online communities over to Steam.Wolfenstein: Enemy Territorywas not available through the Bethesda game launcher, but since Bethesda owns the license for theWolfensteingames, it is possible that it decided to releaseEnemy Territoryon Steam because now Bethesda will not be responsible for the game’s online maintenance.
Often older fan-favouritegames can become delisted and unable to be played, especially free-to-play multiplayer games after they lose their player base. It is refreshing, then, to see one get brought back. And receiving a release on Steam may even rejuvenate the game’s player base in the process.
