Cult classic Phantom Dust now available for free on Xbox One

The remaster of cult classic Phantom Dust is now available for free on Xbox One and Windows 10. 

Adam Isgreen, Creative Director for Phantom Dust, made the announcement on a blog post said the decision was made based on feedback and passion from fans about the Xbox classic.

“At Team Xbox we put gamers at the center of everything we do and we are driven to build the best platform on which to create and play games,” said Isgreen inviting experienced and new players to download the game, jump into multiplayer with some friends and discover why this game is truly unique.

Players can download Phantom Dust on Windows 10 PC and the Xbox One family of devices via Xbox Play Anywhere at no cost.

Isgreen said that Phantom Dust is such a unique game that it was hard to classify when it was released for the original Xbox in 2004 in Japan. It was decided at the time to not release it in the United States, although it was already localised in English.

Phantom Dust was eventually given a limited released in the US through another publisher to a passionate audience – an audience that was still playing it online the day original Xbox multiplayer servers were turned off.

The game became a cult classic, and for over a decade, fans have found ways to continue to play the game on modified original Xbox’s, or via special LAN tunneling programs on the Xbox 360’s back-compatible version.

This is why Phantom Dust was and still is a wholly unique game unlike any other, as while the rest of the gaming world has caught up with the idea of using cards and deck building in different genres, it remains a unique proposition in Phantom Dust.

Phantom Dust is an action-combat game for up to four combatants set in highly destructible arenas in which players choose from over 300 skills to build their arsenal of attacks, defenses, and special abilities.

Players draw odds and deck-building strategies collide with action combat resulting in battles in which both wits and reflexes matter.

There is a fifteen hour campaign for solo players that take them through a story of loss, isolation, and belief, set in a world ravaged by a strange etheric dust.

The multiplayer side features up to four-player games with incredible team combat dynamics. It features collectible card game mechanics, in which players earn skills and credits and also buy them at the in-game shop that offers over 300 skills.

There is a skill for anything players could possibly think of and the very excellent balance and nature of the game with over thirteen years of play have never resulted in a “perfect” deck being created.

Isgreen said that Phantom Dust was not given a change to find its audience when it was released, and even though it visually remains a product of the era it was created it, it is still compelling and unique today.