Worms creator Andy Davidson on the Director's Cut 30th Anniversary Expansion Pack
"Rather than closing a chapter, I hope it gives the game a new lease of life."
Worms: The Director's Cut is a game I didn't know of until very recently, when I saw that Worms creator Andy Davidson, with help from Ben "Squirminator2k" Paddon, was working on a brand new expansion pack for it, which came out today (August 7), alongside a new site to mark the launch.
The original Worms is one of the first games I played when I got my Sony PlayStation console back in July 1997. The amount of weapons that could be used, the fantastic cut-scenes that seemed lifted from a Looney Tunes cartoon, and so much more. I remember being disappointed that there weren't more Worms games coming, especially when I saw Worms 2 in the works for PC.
Fast forward to 2026, and there are countless titles in the Worms series that can be played now. But Worms: The Director's Cut is an enigma from 1997 - it improves on the game I used to play on my PlayStation, along with having 14 weapons, new to the series at the time, like the Holy Hand Grenade and Super Sheep, as well as a level editor, a back-flip ability, and more.
The Expansion Pack is available, featuring new levels, teams, and more. There's also a new remix album and a tool to make your own levels. To mark the launch, I spoke to Davidson all about it, and whether we'll ever see Worms: The Director's Cut Expansion Pack on other platforms someday.
"Incoming!"
Worms was huge in the mid-90s - it was one of my first games with my PS1. But what made you want to create a Director’s Cut to start with around this time, and why the Amiga?
Davidson: It started as just a simple AGA upgrade, to give the Amiga the best version of the game that I could, but attention was beginning to turn to a sequel, and I wanted to explore new ideas and weapons. So the Director’s Cut was my way of prototyping things for the sequel to ensure that it was as good a game as it could be.
I remember being disappointed that Worms 2 was PC only - I had to wait for Worms Armageddon for my next fix - was Director's Cut ever considered for PS1?
Director's Cut was always thought of as an exclusive, and was also my thank you to the Amiga and its community for making it all possible.
After eight years since you posted an image about a DC Expansion Pack, it's now out - what’s the reason for releasing this almost 30 years since DC’s debut?
DC (Director's Cut) was very much a labour of love, and I tried to future-proof it as much as possible. Because of it having to be released when it did, we didn’t get time to include examples of the dual-layer custom levels which DC supported. These levels have a foreground and background, allowing for things like interiors. It’s nice to be able to include these in the Expansion Pack for people to experience, as well as all the sample sets; now we don’t have to worry about disk space.
What’s the big highlight for you in this new release? What will longtime fans of the series get out of this?
The collaborations have been really fun, and my favourite is the Llamasoft level. Meeting Jeff Minter was a highlight. His games inspired me from a very early age, and got me thinking about different gameplay mechanics. It’s an honour to have a Llamasoft level in the game with his blessing, and P-A Gustafsson (aka Rodney from the demo group TBL) did an amazing job with it.
You’ve mentioned how this is being made as a way to celebrate the Amiga, and you asked some in the scene to submit level ideas - how was it to manage these submissions, and did any surprise you?
One of the nicest things was all the messages saying how much Worms had meant to them, and also how DC was still being played regularly. Worms was very much an Amiga game, designed around the hardware, and couldn’t have happened without it.
So getting submissions from demo groups, user groups and magazines for the Expansion Pack felt really appropriate. The number of recreations of other Amiga games that people had made for Worms did surprise me, and that led me to seek permission for their inclusion in the Expansion Pack.
Was it a challenge to revisit 30-year-old code for this release?
Going back to the original code did prove much more difficult than I imagined. There was a lot I just didn’t remember three decades on, and scrolling through the code I did wonder how I managed it all in the first place!
I did plan to update the game itself with some new features, but the focus for now is on all the additional content and that all works with the existing version of the game.
There are stages based on shows and games, with Factor 5 giving its blessing for Turrican - how did that come about?
That came about from one of the members of the Worms DC Discord who showed an example of what they’d put together. I was really impressed, and it was exactly what we wanted to do with the Expansion Pack, which was to celebrate the Amiga. Turrican is a big part of that. After speaking with Factor 5 and getting their blessing, I’m honoured to be able to include it.
Could we ever see Worms DC and this expansion pack on other platforms someday, other than the A500 Mini?
I can’t say anything at the moment, but it would be nice for a wider audience to get a chance to play DC. It’s the version of Worms I’m most proud of, as I feel it’s when the gameplay and humour really clicked. It’s also the most customisable. I’ve really enjoyed seeing what people have created for it, so the more people who get to play and create for it, the better.
Director's Cut originally sold around 5000 copies on the Amiga, and this expansion pack is being given away for free. Is this your way of closing a chapter on your life with the original Worms and DC?
The Expansion Pack is a chance for people to enjoy the full package of DC, with all it could do. Rather than closing a chapter, I hope it gives the game a new lease of life.
The site we are creating for it we want to eventually end up being a creative hub for the game, where people can submit their custom levels, DIY landscapes, and sample sets.
I don’t ever want to close the book on the Amiga version of Worms, as without it none of this would have happened. Only Amiga makes it possible! 🙂
My thanks to Andy for taking the time to chat to me.
Having played Worms: The Director's Cut via an Amiga emulator this year, I couldn't help but think how there may have been a missed opportunity to bring this out on consoles around 1998. Nevertheless, the new Expansion Pack is fantastic. Not only does it feel like Worms all these years later, but the added levels inspired by Turrican and Llamasoft are perfect callbacks.
Granted, if you want to play this, you'll have to find an Amiga machine like an A500 or try to get an Amiga emulator working. But I promise you, it'll be worth the hassle if you've got fond memories of playing the original Worms from back in the day.
