The Painkiller Reboot Gets An October Launch Date

At the final, all-virtual E3 in 2021, Koch Media announced a reboot of the 2004 shooter Painkiller was in development. Today, we learned players will make their return trip to Purgatory on October 9. 

While the original Painkiller was created by Outriders/Bulletstorm developer People Can Fly, this modern reimagining – simply titled Painkiller – is made by Anshar Studios and published by 3D Realms. Despite the change in creators, the new game shares thematic similarities with its predecessor. Players are trapped in Purgatory and must fight their way out to prevent the fallen angel, Azazel, from invading Earth. Instead of controlling a single protagonist, however, the first-person shooter lets players select from four playable characters: Ink, Void, Sol, and Roch, each with distinct traits. 

Painkiller can be played alone, but it also features three-player online co-op. In addition to blasting apart demons with a variety of supernaturally-enhanced firearms (both classic and new), you can upgrade abilities using tarot cards. 

Painkiller will launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on October 9. A Standard Edition of the game costs $39.99, and pre-ordering it earns you the Iron Crusade skin pack for characters and weapons. A Deluxe Edition runs for $49.99 and includes the skin pack plus three post-launch DLCs that will include additional character/weapon skins.