Remembering the Geforce Leak

There’s an interesting thread over at Resetera where a poster has dug out the remaining games not yet officially announced from the infamous Geforce Now leak.

Nearly three years of confirmations have proven what a treasure trove this leak turned out to be, and that makes the titles still remaining conspicuous in their absence. And even more so for the potential some of them have.

The post, which has been put together by Mocha Joe, hints at cancelled or yet-to-be released PC ports, unannounced sequels and even some remasters.

And I’m going to start there, because when I see the probably cancelled remasters that were on this list, I always get a little sad. For anybody who has played Portal RTX, you know what an incredible difference it can make. Carefully chosen, some titles from that era could literally lead the charge when it comes to the potential for raytracing. And two carefully chosen games on that list include Batman: Arkham Asylum and Bioshock. Two absolute no-brainers.

On the one hand you have the play between shadow and light of Arkham Asylum. Light is so important in that game, and a RTX remaster would feel closer to a remake for the difference it makes. And Bioshock, if pulled off correctly, would prove the impact on vibe. Between reflections on glass tubing and light shining through water, it would be incredible to see.

As it happens, I looked this up a few months ago and it looks like it was cancelled. Huge disappointment.

The rest of the list is mostly still up for grabs. Appearing on the list is by no means a confirmation of a release. Still, as a snapshot of what was coming, it remains extremely postiive.

The Rest of the Geforce Now List

Still potentially to come are ports such as Ratchet and Clank, Crash Team Racing Nitro Refuelled, Halo 5, Demons Souls and Gran Turismo 7. Given Sony’s current efforts to port their games over to PC, some of these aren’t so much surprising as they are comforting to see. Demons Souls is a top quality effort that deserves a wider audience. We can presume they’re still coming, because it would be weird for them not to at this point, and they’re on the Geforce Now list.

Halo 5 is a weird one, but it makes sense to want entire franchises ported across to PC. The Master Chief Collection has been very popular on Steam. Finishing the franchise makes sense. They don’t have to do it, but I’d like to think Xbox still wants to.

Then there are some interesting hints at things we’ve never seen before. Two Final Fantasy games – remakes of IX and Tactics – are really interesting in concept. Bioshock 2022 missed its mark, and will continue to for many years to come (latest rumours put the next Bioshock game as late as 2026). Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories was always a welcome release on there, but given the remasters and Red Dead Redemption release, keep expectations in check. Like, well in check.

Resident Evil Outbreak is probably going to fair a little better. Honestly, I’m surprised it took them this long. Taking an online game from when internet gaming was niche and expanding it out for a modern audience seems like a no-brainer, especially when Capcom has typically struggled with finding an online home for their flagship survival horror. But here we are – still waiting.

Conclusion

There are a lot of games that are interesting, but I’ll stop on these two. Mario Vs Rabbids appeared on the list, as did Bayonetta 3.

Mario Vs Rabbids would be a huge release to come to PC, and it might help Nintendo realise there’s a place for their games on PC. Granted, it’s not a Nintendo developed game, but being able to buy anything Mario on Steam would be the start of a brave new world.

Nintendo paid for Bayonetta 3, too. If the third is coming, expect the second. This would be very welcome for those who want to play these classic character action games away from the Switch.

We can tell from the accuracy of the rest of the list that this wasn’t speculation. Nintendo hopefully gave the green light on exploring the option, if nothing else. The wishful thinking part of the conversation is around whether it’s still coming. Common sense says these games should appear on PC in the near future. But you never know when it comes to Nintendo.