Binding of Isaac remake will feature an expansion's worth of new content

Following its official announcement in a Gamasutra post-mortem , Binding of Isaac creator Edmund McMillen has provided details of the upcoming remake in an FAQ posted to his blog . Titled Rebirth, it's billed as a "totally remade game based on the flash version of the Binding of Isaac + Wrath of the Lamb."

The game is being developed by Nicalis, who were behind the Cave Story+ update, and is planned for release on Steam (and those console things) towards the end of 2013.

One of the main draws of the remake is the new engine that will power it. Binding of Isaac was excellent, but saw a flurry of bug fixes as the creaky Flash architecture struggled to hold under the weight of McMillen's constant content additions. Even today, the game is no stranger the occasional bout of frame rate problems. Rebirth is set to become the definitive version, with a pre-order loyalty discount planned for those who own the original.

But a quicker, stabler engine also offers the possibility of new features. "[The remake] will also feature another Wrath sized expansion over the top that will feature a new final chapter, ending, 2 new playable characters and tons more items, rooms, enemies, bosses and the like."

The changes don't end there. McMillen's also promising a completely new 16-bit makeover for the graphics. "I'm doing this because I think the art is tired and I'm sick of looking at it ... I think its kinda appropriate/funny to do a demake for the remake."

With Nicalis on development duties, McMillen's free to work on the second Team Meat game, the mysterious Mew-Genics , which is currently in full-time development.

Phil Savage
Editor-in-Chief

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.