Hype! Buzz! Someone hints at a Red Alert 2 Remaster and the CnC Community goes into involuntary overdrive. A few days ago, EA sponsored a private community event in Brighton, UK. This was, officially, an event to celebrate the release of the Ultimate Collection on Steam but it’s Red Alert 2 theme has people – desperate people – hoping that its an indicator of plans by EA to remaster Red Alert 2.
Red Alert 2 is a firm favourite within the Command and Conquer community. Whilst the first Red Alert was grounded in an alternative, time-travelling, science fiction, quasi-reality, Red Alert 2 dialled science fantasy up to 100. With units like the Kirov Airship, Chrono Legionnaire, Prism Tank, and War Bear (Yuri’s Revenge, that one), Red Alert 2 was intent on stretching the acceptability limits on weapons of war. The addition of Udo Kier to the cast as Yuri, the mind-controlling advisor to Soviet Premier, Alexander Romanov, lifted the full-motion video cut scenes to new levels of melodrama. Twenty four years later, Red Alert 2 still has an active and dedicated player base.
How About The Remaster Then?
A small, yet fanatical cohort have been screaming for a Red Alert 2 remaster for a very long time. Clamour for RA2 to get the remaster treatment intensified when EA pushed the Command and Conquer Remastered Collection in 2020. If the original can get some love, surely its better-selling sibling deserves some attention to?
Jim Vessella, the lead producer of Command & Conquer at EA, made a statement following the launch of the Command & Conquer Ultimate Collection on Steam. He said,
I realize many of you have been wondering about the status of Command & Conquer over the past several years. After the launch of the first C&C Remastered Collection, I told our Community Council I would continue to try and find opportunities to support the C&C community and franchise wherever possible.
“The launch of the first C&C Remastered Collection.” “The First.” Is it merely a poor choice of words, or a hint at a planned second release? This kind of speculation sends the Command & Conquer fandom into overdrive, with fans debating and analyzing every possible implication. Could this mean more classic titles from the series will be given the remastered treatment?
Any remaster release will have to be commercially viable for a company like EA to consider it. They will be looking closely at the performance of the first remaster four years on. Did it make a profit? Unlike the community, who are in this for the love, EA are in it for the cold hard cash. They’ll also be considering uptake on the Ultimate Collection with includes Red Alert 2 and Yuri’s Revenge. Does the data indicate that the originals are being played enough for their to be a receptive audience for a Red Alert 2 remaster?
On Games Watcher it was reported that “The resurgence of Red Alert 2 on Steam has attracted a significant player base, propelling it onto Steam’s trending list with a peak of 6,617 players – and the numbers continue to rise.”
Whilst not entirely inaccurate in that the peak players was 6,617, the player base has since stabilised at around 1000 concurrent gamers. That’s not enough to prompt EA to invest in further development or additional remastered releases. Yuri has had his Revenge, and it looks like his opportunities for further chaos are running out. The mind-controlling mastermind’s days of stirring up trouble are twenty-four years behind him.
As much as I’d love to see a Red Alert 2 Remaster I feel it’s just simply not gonna happen. It’s not commercially viable for EA to plough funds into something which isn’t going to be a commercial success. Agree? Disagree? The comments are open.
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