Wing Commander 3 is getting a new edition built around footage from its original FMV source tapes. EA producer Jim Vessella revealed the project during a presentation at the Portland Retro Gaming Expo.
Vessella found 600 source tapes while digitizing EA’s video archive. Those recordings will provide the FMV footage for the new edition. Presentation material also described the broader digitization effort as involving 16,000 tapes, a separate figure from the 600 source tapes found for the game’s footage.
He's also announcing the Wing Commander III 30th Anniversary Edition:Kilrathi SagaFMVs sourced and upscaledCommunity Enhancement Patch added60fpsController support
— solon's haunted library @ PRGE (@chorby.org) 2026-10-10T23:26:59.056Z
The live-action FMV, including performances by Mark Hamill, was a defining part of the 1994 game’s presentation. The new edition is titled Wing Commander 3: Heart of the Tiger 30th Anniversary Edition. Its features include footage sourced from the original tapes and upscaled, missions from the Kilrathi Saga, the Community Enhancement Patch, and gameplay up to 60 fps.
Re-release of Wing Commander III coming out with video taken from the original tapes courtesy of a restoration project led by Jim Vessella who has been digitizing the EA video archive
— Steve Lin (@stevelin.bsky.social) 2026-10-11T00:47:19.028Z
A follow-up from Steve Lin adds controller support and planned releases on Steam, GOG, and the EA app. The anniversary label arrives two years after the milestone. The original game released in 1994, so its 30th anniversary fell in 2024.
What would you most like to see preserved in a new edition of Wing Commander 3? For more on EA’s archive recovery and the footage returning in this edition, stay connected on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
