Classic Dark Fantasy FPS Heretic, And Its Sequel, Getting Re-Released
QuakeCon is currently being held at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas, until Aug. 10, 2025, and game news is already coming out of the convention. The event opened with the reveal that Bethesda has re-released Heretic and Hexen, together with all DLC for those titles, on all major platforms. They’re available now, and owners of the original versions receive free upgrades.
Heretic was first released in 1994 by Raven Software and ID Software, and added a grimdark fantasy angle to typical FPS conventions. Hexen followed suit, and also included RPG elements to further distance itself from standard sci-fi shooters.
Bethesda revealed the news on X on Aug. 7: “Introducing the definitive re-release of Heretic + Hexen, the legendary dark fantasy FPS. Featuring new content, community published mods, online multiplayer up to 16 players with cross-play, and up to 120hz in 4K.”
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Fantasy Doom
Doom: The Dark Ages, released in May this year, may have stuck Doomguy in a fantasy setting, but Heretic beat him by 20 years. Although there are no chainsaw shields or overpowered shotguns, Heretic does feature powerful magic spells that feel similar to Doom’s weapons as it was made in the original Doom engine.
The game swapped out the sci-fi facilities of its progenitor for dank dungeons and hordes of undead. It also ended on something of a cliffhanger, which was followed up in Heretic II, released in 1998. However, Hexen is considered by many to be an indirect sequel, as it follows new characters but references the same enemies and story as Heretic.
Hexen also introduced a choice of player classes more in line with RPGs: fighter, cleric, and mage. The gameplay also iterated upon Heretic’s by adding hubs so levels become interconnected. Reviews for both games were mainly positive, although some critics couldn’t shake the Doom comparisons.
New Robes For Old Wizards
The re-releases for Heretic and Hexen are being touted by Bethesda as being enhanced and restored, although this appears less a case of remastering and more a case of bundling everything together. However, the updates do include cross-platform online co-op, Deathmatch multiplayer support for up to 16 players, and community-published mod support.
Five DLC are also included: Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders, Hexen: Beyond Heretic, Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel, and two new expansions – Heretic: Faith Renewed and Hexen: Vestiges of Grandeur.
For games into their history, there’s the Raven Vault, which has a bunch of content from the game’s original development. The original soundtrack is also included, alongside a modern version.
Both games are available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Windows, with the latter version requiring Windows 10 and either NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 TI (2GB) or AMD HD 7750 (1GB) to run.
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