Commander Keen is back, as a free-to-play mobile game

Zenimax Online announced a brand new Commander Keen game at Bethesda's E3 2019 press conference, but if you're expecting a return to the series' platformer roots... well, sorry. Commander Keen is a free-to-play mobile game for iOS and Android. In other words, it won't be coming to PC.

"Dadmiral Keen has been kidnapped, and only twin geniuses Billie and Billy can save him," reads the description, referring to the two playable characters. "Utilize a zany collection of gadgets that blast, bounce, and baffle your enemies in the solo Story Mode, or go helmet-to-helmet against your fellow commanders in Battle Mode. It’s time to kick some asteroid!"

It's a far cry from the classic 1990s platformers, and it's disappointing that an icon of PC gaming should skip PC entirely. The game's original creator, Tom Hall, said earlier this year that he'd love to make a new Commander Keen game, but that his letters to Zenimax had fallen on deaf ears.

Here are the two trailers, for what it's worth:

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.