Classic text adventure remake Colossal Cave will launch early next year

An official remake of the classic 1970s text adventure game Colossal Cave is in the works, as announced back in March last year, and thanks to tonight's Game Awards we now know it’s set to release on January 19th, 2023. Best add a spelunking kit to your Christmas wish list, then.

Originally created by Will Crowther in 1976, and with help from Don Woods in 1977, this new 3D remake of Colossal Cave is being headed by noted gaming pioneer Roberta Williams. Her name will most certainly ring a bell for PC retro game fans, as she and her husband Ken are the founders of Sierra On-Line, the game company behind 1980s retro classics like Phantasmagoria and King’s Quest. With the release of Colossal Cave, the duo are back under a new company name, Cygnus Entertainment.

The remake closely follows the story of the original. You open the front door of a seemingly normal wooden cabin to reveal a network of spooky caves for you to explore. You’re essentially there to loot all the treasures you find, and will have a fair share of run-ins with trolls, dwarfs, bears, snakes, and apparently one very lost pirate. A lovely touch is that text from the original game will be narrated throughout your adventure - that’s sure to give fans of the original a proper throwback.

Colossal Cave will be available for £35 / $40 / € 40 on Steam, the Epic Games Store, Humble, and Itch.

For more of the latest news and trailers, check out our Game Awards 2022 hub. We also live-blogged the show as it happened right here.