Joe Danger Returns To Hello Games In Heart-Warming Story

Joe Danger, the Evil Knievel-channelling 2D stunt racer from Hello Games, was initially released on consoles and PCs before making its way to phones and touchscreens. It was a success from the start and a great sequel and spinoff saw Joe and pals build out their world just as Hello was preparing to blast off into space.

But the excitement died down and the game was mostly forgotten, until January 27th when out of nowhere a remastered Joe Danger appeared yesterday sporting improved visuals, a higher frame rate, multitouch improvements, ProMotion and Gamepad support, and even localization updates. It caught most folk by surprise, and the reason why it happened is that Hello itself got caught off-guard by a message from a big fan. Or, more specifically, the dad of a big fan.

Hello Games’ Sean Murray posted the message he received, which begins by saying that his eight-year-old son Jack has been diagnosed with autism. “One of the things that has enabled Jack and I to bond is our shared love of video games, specifically Joe Danger. Jack LOVES Joe. He loves everything about him. He has a collection of toy motorcycles that are his ‘Joe Dangers;’ every motorcycle we see on the street is ‘Joe Danger.’ One of the first things I hear every day when I walk in the door after a long day at work is ‘come on, daddy, let’s go play Joe Danger!’  Just being able to say that sentence is a MASSIVE deal for [a] child with autism.”

The message goes on to explain that Joe Danger is a coping mechanism for Jack in stressful situations: He gets to play on the phone for a bit if he gets through things. Unfortunately, thanks to iOS updates, Joe Danger was one of many apps that had basically been rendered inoperable and disappeared from the App Store.

Upon getting Jack’s dad’s message, Hello quietly set to work breathing new life into the game that was the launchpad for its own success.

“As game devs it’s so easy to underestimate the impact even your smallest games can have,” Murray wrote, announcing the new version of the game. “It blows my mind that something you make can be someone’s first game they played, hit at an important time, or even be their favorite thing for a while.”

The Joe Danger Action Pack remastered is out now, and free to the million or so people who already own the original.

(All information was provided by PC Gamer)