W
Will Fulton, Xbox Wire Editor
Guest
December 3, 2025
On the surface, Blood: Refreshed Supply may not seem all that different from 2019’s Blood: Fresh Supply. Both are remasters of the 1997 horror FPS from Monolith Productions, courtesy of the remaster specialists at Nightdive Studios.
Of the two, Blood: Refreshed Supply is the definitive version.
When players sink their teeth into this definitive remaster, they’ll be treated to a pool of small but meaningful improvements that help it feel more authentic to the original than anything previously offered.
This is in part because, unlike its predecessor, Blood: Refreshed Supply has been rebuilt from the ground up using the game’s original source code.
Nightdive Studios had yet to obtain the original source code for Blood when it started working on its initial remaster, Fresh Supply. Without the source code, Nightdive’s developers had to reverse-engineer any missing or incomplete pieces of content from whatever materials were available to them at the time.
As meticulous and detailed as reverse engineering sounds, it’s ultimately a more tedious and less precise way to remaster a game, according to Nightdive’s lead KEX developer, Samuel “Kaiser” Villareal.
“Reverse engineering is extremely time-consuming and is prone to mistakes, leading to various aspects of gameplay feeling off or not behaving exactly like how one would remember it,” Villareal explains. “For more complex games, especially games released around the early 2000s, it is absolutely mandatory to have the full source code at hand.”
The Nightdive team spent years trying to get access to it, but only recently were they successful in tracking down the source code for Blood. “With the original
Nightdive Explains How the Game’s Original Source Code Transformed Blood: Refreshed Supply
- Morgan Shaver, Communications Manager at Nightdive Studios
On the surface, Blood: Refreshed Supply may not seem all that different from 2019’s Blood: Fresh Supply. Both are remasters of the 1997 horror FPS from Monolith Productions, courtesy of the remaster specialists at Nightdive Studios.
Of the two, Blood: Refreshed Supply is the definitive version.
When players sink their teeth into this definitive remaster, they’ll be treated to a pool of small but meaningful improvements that help it feel more authentic to the original than anything previously offered.
This is in part because, unlike its predecessor, Blood: Refreshed Supply has been rebuilt from the ground up using the game’s original source code.
Sourcing the Code
Nightdive Studios had yet to obtain the original source code for Blood when it started working on its initial remaster, Fresh Supply. Without the source code, Nightdive’s developers had to reverse-engineer any missing or incomplete pieces of content from whatever materials were available to them at the time.
As meticulous and detailed as reverse engineering sounds, it’s ultimately a more tedious and less precise way to remaster a game, according to Nightdive’s lead KEX developer, Samuel “Kaiser” Villareal.
“Reverse engineering is extremely time-consuming and is prone to mistakes, leading to various aspects of gameplay feeling off or not behaving exactly like how one would remember it,” Villareal explains. “For more complex games, especially games released around the early 2000s, it is absolutely mandatory to have the full source code at hand.”
The Nightdive team spent years trying to get access to it, but only recently were they successful in tracking down the source code for Blood. “With the original
Code:
in hand, our developers were able to revisit the reverse-engineered code we’d previously worked on and update it to be as authentic to the original as possible.”
[IMG alt="Blood Refreshed Supply"]https://i0.wp.com/xboxwire.thesourcemediaassets.com/sites/2/2025/12/bl03Old-64d78cccde7d0fb35868.jpg?ssl=1[/IMG][IMG alt="Blood: Refreshed Supply"]https://i0.wp.com/xboxwire.thesourcemediaassets.com/sites/2/2025/12/bl03New-a5596efe80ef3358a504.jpg?ssl=1[/IMG]
[HEADING=1][B]Keeping it Classic[/B][/HEADING]
One of Nightdive’s core missions outside of game preservation is releasing remasters that look and play the way you remember them, and having access to a game’s source code makes it easier for the team to deliver authentic experiences.
“Having the source code to work from not only enables us to make a faithful remaster that matches the original in terms of ‘look and feel,’ it also allows us to see how the original developers were able to design the game,” says Larry Kuperman, Nightdive VP of Business Development.
If you think about it, a game’s source code is more than lines of code, it’s like a building’s blueprints. A replica of a building can technically be made without blueprints, but it won’t be an exact copy of the original building.
As critical as having a game’s source code can be with all of these factors in mind, tracking it down can often prove challenging, especially for older or more niche titles.
“It’s often difficult to obtain the original source code for classic video games. It’s often the case that copies no longer exist, or the people who still have them are difficult to find,” says Nightdive CEO and founder Stephen Kick. He goes on to assure that, “Every time we do discover original code, we make our best efforts to preserve it.”
[IMG alt="Blood: Refreshed Supply"]https://i0.wp.com/xboxwire.thesourcemediaassets.com/sites/2/2025/12/bl02Old-bcc6d428c1357e530c14.jpg?ssl=1[/IMG][IMG alt="Blood: Refreshed Supply"]https://i0.wp.com/xboxwire.thesourcemediaassets.com/sites/2/2025/12/bl02New-32d830e77e2d5b22de3f.jpg?ssl=1[/IMG]
[HEADING=1][B]Refreshed Supply[/B][/HEADING]
Thanks to the newly acquired source code, [I]Blood: Refreshed Supply[/I] will offer remade cutscenes along with other visual improvements, including 4K at 120 FPS on Xbox Series X. Not only will the game look better, it’ll play better too.
“Those who are familiar with the original DOS game and [I]Fresh Supply[/I] will immediately feel the difference right off the bat, particularly with player movement,” Villareal confirms.
[I]Blood: Refreshed Supply[/I] will also offer expanded options for improved enemy behavior, bug fixes for the game’s original levels, and a previously cut weather effects feature, among other enhancements.
“We had a chance to go back and do additional level refinements and adjustments that were not implemented in [I]Blood: Fresh Supply[/I],” adds Nightdive project manager and producer Grover Wimberly IV. “We’re also excited to finally bring [I]Blood [/I]to Xbox consoles for the first time.”
[IMG alt="Blood: Refreshed Supply"]https://i0.wp.com/xboxwire.thesourcemediaassets.com/sites/2/2025/12/bl04Old-436bfc223d6c08cb499b.jpg?ssl=1[/IMG][IMG alt="Blood: Refreshed Supply"]https://i0.wp.com/xboxwire.thesourcemediaassets.com/sites/2/2025/12/bl04New-9c81f806fcb741061599.jpg?ssl=1[/IMG]
On Xbox consoles, players can look forward to improved controller gamepad support and 8-player split-screen multiplayer on Xbox Series X|S. On all platforms, [I]Blood: Refreshed Supply[/I] will offer additional content, including the aptly named Marrow and Death Wish scenarios.
Marrow and Death Wish will be the first official expansions released for [I]Blood[/I] since Cryptic Passage and Plasma Pak back in 1997.
“The Marrow scenario will be available at launch,” Wimberly IV outlines. “We plan on adding the Death Wish scenario as a free update for all players in early 2026.”
Marrow developer Nick Palsmeier notes that in terms of content, “Marrow adds 2 new episodes, and Death Wish adds another 4. Combined, these new expansions add 72 additional levels to [I]Blood[/I].”
Similar to other Nightdive releases, [I]Blood: Refreshed Supply[/I] will also feature a brand-new Vault packed with bonus materials, including dozens of playable cut-content levels, concept art, behind-the-scenes photos, unused sprites, and more!
[IMG alt="Blood: Refreshed Supply"]https://i0.wp.com/xboxwire.thesourcemediaassets.com/sites/2/2025/12/bl01Old-3cba3903104796d7a837.jpg?ssl=1[/IMG][IMG alt="Blood: Refreshed Supply"]https://i0.wp.com/xboxwire.thesourcemediaassets.com/sites/2/2025/12/bl01New-0026498b9348c1132f9d.jpg?ssl=1[/IMG]
[HEADING=1][B]Bloody Good Time[/B][/HEADING]
Whether you’re looking to experience [I]Blood[/I] for the very first time or simply want to replay the game on consoles, [I]Blood: Refreshed Supply[/I] is shaping up to be the ultimate way to enjoy one of the ’90s most unique and darkly atmospheric shooters.
To see if [I][URL='https://news.xbox.com/en-us/Refreshed Supply']Blood: Refreshed Supply[/URL][/I] is capable of satiating your hunger for an authentic [I]Blood[/I]-y experience, keep an eye out for the game’s release on all platforms — including Xbox One and Series X|S — on December 4!
[URL='https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/apps/9pd2qglp9wjr'] [IMG alt="Blood: Refreshed Supply"]https://store-images.s-microsoft.com/image/apps.4717.14157972662998732.d1fea4b1-4d7f-40b5-8f99-a2a657edd876.375fc2e2-c386-41c2-a268-ff62f7adbbcf?w=400&h=600[/IMG] [/URL]
[HEADING=1]Blood: Refreshed Supply[/HEADING]
Warner Bros. Games, Atari, Nightdive Studios
☆☆☆☆☆
★★★★★
[URL='https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/apps/9pd2qglp9wjr']Get it now[/URL]
Blood: Refreshed Supply follows Caleb, an undead gunslinger on a quest for revenge against his former demonic master, Tchernobog. Despite his once powerful position as a fearsome Cabal commander and one of Tchernobog’s “Chosen” few, Caleb and his fellow Chosen are betrayed by the dark god and slain for reasons unknown. Seeking answers and vengeance, Caleb rises from the grave to put a stop to Tchernobog and his murderous lieutenants once and for all. Grab your Pitchfork and get ready to stab your way through 42 blood-soaked levels, while unlocking even more creative and effective implements of destruction along the way. Incinerate foes with weapons like the Flare Gun, Aerosol Can, and Napalm Launcher. Blast enemies straight to hell bundles of dynamite, shoot them full of holes with the Tommy Gun and Sawed-Off Shotgun, or tap into darker methods of annihilation with the game’s powerful Voodoo Doll and Life Leech offerings. Use your arsenal of weapons to survive Tchernobog’s evil Cabal of loyal Cultists, Fanatics, Zealots, and Acolytes, along with swarms of hellish creatures from ruthless Zombies and flying Gargoyles, to water-dwelling Gill Beasts, screaming Phantasms, and firebreathing Hell Hounds. Includes the original Blood along with the Plasma Pak and Cryptic Passage add-ons.
[HEADING=1]Related Stories for “Nightdive Explains How the Game’s Original Source Code Transformed Blood: Refreshed Supply”[/HEADING]
[URL='https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2025/12/03/clair-obscur-expedition-33-game-pass-biggest-launch/'][IMG]https://xboxwire.thesourcemediaassets.com/sites/2/2025/04/Expedition_33_TitledHeroArt_1920x1080-4c4dba55e6c4600366ad.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[LIST]
[*][URL='https://news.xbox.com/en-us/xbox-game-pass/']Category: Xbox Game Pass[/URL]
[/LIST]
[HEADING=2][URL='https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2025/12/03/clair-obscur-expedition-33-game-pass-biggest-launch/']Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Is the Biggest New Third-Party Game Launch on Xbox Game Pass of 2025[/URL][/HEADING]
[URL='https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2025/12/02/hela-a-co-op-adventure-for-every-kind-of-player/'][IMG alt="Hela key art"]https://xboxwire.thesourcemediaassets.com/sites/2/2025/12/Hela_Hero_Art-99f6938b822a9a6379fd.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[LIST]
[*][URL='https://news.xbox.com/en-us/idatxbox/']Category: ID@Xbox[/URL]
[/LIST]
[HEADING=2][URL='https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2025/12/02/hela-a-co-op-adventure-for-every-kind-of-player/']Hela: A Co-Op Adventure for Every Kind of Player[/URL][/HEADING]
[URL='https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2025/12/02/lost-twins-2-water-update/'][IMG alt="LT2 key art"]https://xboxwire.thesourcemediaassets.com/sites/2/2025/12/Hero-image-1920-X1080-7c9394ae2a514d55340c.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[LIST]
[*][URL='https://news.xbox.com/en-us/idatxbox/']Category: ID@Xbox[/URL]
[/LIST]
[HEADING=2][URL='https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2025/12/02/lost-twins-2-water-update/']Lost Twins 2 Water Update Offers Challenging New Puzzles and Improved Gameplay[/URL][/HEADING]
The post [URL='https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2025/12/03/blood-refreshed-supply-source-code/']Nightdive Explains How the Game’s Original Source Code Transformed Blood: Refreshed Supply[/URL] appeared first on [URL='https://news.xbox.com/en-us']Xbox Wire[/URL].
[url="https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2025/12/03/blood-refreshed-supply-source-code/"]Continue reading...[/url]