Myst and Riven remakes are getting physical console and big box PC releases

Limited Run Games and Cyan Worlds are releasing physical console and PC editions of the modern Myst and Riven remakes. According to Limited Run Games, pre-orders for both standard and retro-style Big Box editions will open on September 18.

The standard physical editions cost $39.99. Myst is available on disc for PlayStation 5 and Xbox One/Xbox Series X|S. Riven is slightly more restricted. Its physical discs are limited to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, skipping the older Xbox One hardware entirely. PC players get a different setup: the PC versions only come in the $64.99 Big Box format and include a Steam digital key rather than a physical disc.

$65 for a cardboard box and a Steam key

The $64.99 Big Box editions are designed to mimic the oversized PC game packaging that dominated retail shelves in the 1990s. Along with the game itself, these editions include a soundtrack CD and a double-sided poster. The console Big Box versions do include the physical discs.

From five discs to real-time 3D

Brothers Rand and Robyn Miller originally released Myst in 1993. Back then, most PC games still shipped on floppy disks, and Myst required a CD-ROM drive. People bought the expensive new hardware just to play the game. It sold over six million copies and held the title of best-selling PC game until The Sims arrived in 2002. The puzzles were notoriously obtuse. You had to keep a physical notebook on your desk to track symbols, audio cues, and mechanical switch positions.

Riven followed in 1997, famously spreading its pre-rendered world across five separate discs that players had to swap constantly.

These physical releases are not the original point-and-click slideshows. Cyan Worlds rebuilt both games from the ground up in Unreal Engine. The original games relied on pre-rendered static images where players clicked to hop between fixed nodes. The new versions support full real-time 3D movement, modern lighting, and VR compatibility.

Rebuilding Riven in real-time 3D was a massive undertaking. The original 1997 game used thousands of pre-rendered images that were carefully stitched together. Translating that illusion into a fully explorable 3D space meant Cyan had to fill in the gaps between the original camera angles.

Cyan has spent the last decade shifting heavily toward Unreal Engine development. After releasing original titles like Obduction in 2016 and Firmament in 2023, the studio applied that same technology to its back catalog. The Myst remake launched in 2020 for VR and PC before hitting consoles in 2021. The Riven remake is much newer, having just released in June 2024.

Limited Run's pre-order window opens on September 18. The company has not yet announced a final shipping date for the physical copies.