You may have caught word of our plans to release Wasteland 2 Game of the Year Edition on PC platforms, as well as Xbox One and PlayStation 4 - and if you haven't, you can check out some tidbits on the PlayStation blog, or watch the Xbox One or PS4 trailer. But while that's all well and good, we've been asked by many of our backers and fans over the last months: what about those that made Wasteland 2 a reality in the first place, or previously purchased the game?

We’re very happy to announce that the Game of the Year Edition will be coming as a FREE UPDATE to all owners of Wasteland 2 on Windows, Mac or Linux. Whether an original backer, a late backer or someone who purchased the game later on, we will be providing Wasteland 2 Game of the Year Edition as an upgrade to your PC version of the game, available to you when it launches in late summer of this year!

Wasteland 2 Game of the Year Edition will include a huge set of improvements on the original game. Wasteland 2 will be making the jump to Unity 5, the latest version of the Unity game engine, and benefits from updated environment textures, completely redone character models, and Physically Based Rendering for more impressive lighting. We’ve added a ton of new voice-over to enrich the game's cast of characters, including your trusted companions.

The Game of the Year Edition also provides major updates to gameplay.

One feature we're very proud of is our new Perks & Quirks system, which we've teased a little bit previously with Eurogamer. In the GOTY Edition, you'll be able to customize your squad of Desert Rangers with over 80 Perks & 20 Quirks, which let you fine-tune your characters throughout the game with unique bonuses and trade-offs. For instance, with Way of the Squeezins you'll become a little bit dependent on that special sauce, but gain some short-lived combat bonuses; Raised in the Circus will make you more nimble in combat, but you can bet there's a downside or two to looking like a clown.

Our fans have also pointed out that one feature they loved in previous RPGs is the ability to do more finely targeted attacks. Well, we've been hard at work on that too. Our new Precision Strike system lets Rangers target individual body parts on enemies to gain the edge in combat.

Wasteland 2's Precision strikes will tend towards less random and more reliable. With Precision Strikes, you'll be able to inflict debilitating status effects on your enemies to turn the tactical tide. For example, aiming for an enemy's torso will reduce their armor value, letting you hit them harder with your other squadmates, and firing on their head (or CPU, as the case may be) has a chance to stun or even send them into a psychotic state where they won't be able to tell friend from foe. With Precision Strikes the battlefield becomes much more dynamic and chaotic.

Finally, to improve on the gameplay experience and ensure the above features are fitted in seamlessly, we're also overhauling game balance, item drops, and reworking the majority of combat encounters throughout the game. You'll need all your training and smarts to master the new dangers of the Arizona wastes.

We'll have more to talk about as we get closer to release, as we're not quite ready to show off these features in the flesh, but if you’re hungry for more right now, Eurogamer has the most expansive interview on the Game of the Year Edition available, with me and Brian explaining the update and showing examples of the upgrades. You can also read more on Gameranx, Shacknews and Gaming Bolt.

Wasteland 2 Game of the Year Edition is coming to you free as our way of thanking you for all your support. In an age of paid DLC and microtransactions, we’re thankful that you’ve given us an alternative way to make games we love. We’re very proud of what you’ve helped us accomplish and very happy that our business model is based on mutual trust and support, and this is part of that.
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