Command and Conquer Remastered is currently in the works, with 4K versions of both the original 1995 game and its prequel Red Alert. As well as remastered assets for the missions (you’ll be able to toggle back to the original 320 x 200 graphics with a keypress), EA wanted to remaster those classic, cheesy FMV cutscenes.
It turned out to be more work than expected, as the video below from producer Jim Vessella explains. To cut a 17-minute story short, they tried tracking down the original footage in the archives at EA LA, paying a Hollywood company to digitize archaic format, only to learn that it was the same low-quality footage they already had access to. Instead they turned to the community, who were already working on algorithms to upscale the original FMV. Beginning with the higher-quality cutscenes from the console versions, they managed to upscale them to an impressive degree.
As Vessella notes, the PlayStation versions they were working with did not have all the same cutscenes as the PC version, so players will note that in the remastered game some videos aren’t as improved. On the plus side, material that was exclusive to the PlayStation versions is being added to the PC remaster. And they did discover a lot of B-roll, which will be added as unlockables.
Here’s everything we know about Command and Conquer Remastered.