Battlezone Gold Edition is coming to Xbox One next month, rebooting the iconic 1980s sci-fi tank shooter for a new generation and a brand-new platform. It’s almost 10 years to the day that a Battlezone game last launched on Xbox, the Xbox 360, in fact. That is far, far too long apart for two of the most iconic names in gaming, so we’re delighted to finally be reuniting Battlezone and Xbox. And really, bringing it to Xbox was an absolute no-brainer for us.

When we decided to reboot Battlezone, we thought about how to make it true to the original. The 1980 arcade game is a classic, iconic thing. We spent our childhoods staring into the cabinet’s visor and teleporting into a world of green vector lines. And what a game it was. It not only made you feel like you were in the cockpit of a super-powerful machine but that every shot mattered.

So, we brought back that immersive first-person perspective, but now inside a futuristic hover-tank with a cockpit full of useful displays. The green vector lines transformed into a cybernetic world, its levels lined with neon-tinted structures and polygonal enemies. The arcade gameplay inspired us to make a challenging campaign, procedurally generated to ensure no two playthroughs are the same. And to recreate that arcade atmosphere, we made the whole campaign playable for 1-4 players with drop-in, drop-out online co-op play. And of course, we made sure blowing up tanks felt really satisfying!

We don’t need to tell Xbox fans that the platform has a rich heritage in arcade games. Challenging games, games with frenetic gameplay, games where you play with your friends and just scrape past the final boss. In other words, games just like Battlezone! Here at Rebellion we’ve always strived to make games that are first and foremost fun to play, moment to moment. Battlezone is no exception and like so many other Xbox titles, it’s a great game to just pick up, strap in and have a blast.

Battlezone Gold Edition will launch on May 1 on Xbox One, featuring the game and all additional content ever released for it. That’s all the tank skins, bobbleheads and horns, as well as the Classic Mode that recreates the arcade original.

Thanks for reading, and we really hope you enjoy Battlezone on Xbox One next month. In the meantime, be sure to give us check us out on Twitter and Facebook, and let us know what you think about the game!