in the wilderness

[searcher123]

Greetings,
Is the meaning of "in the wilderness" in the following sentence simply "desert" or it have an idiomatic meaning here, please?

Carmageddon for iPad and iPhone review
Re-released on iOS after years in the wilderness, it can’t help but seem tame by today’s high-definition standards. Source: Macword/Jan. 2013

Best Regards

 

[Aardvark01]

In English translations of the Bible Moses led the people into the wilderness. That context does mean a desert, but we don't have such things in England. What is important is the 'wild' aspect. Any land that is not cultivated (a desert, a jungle, an uninhabited island) is called wild, and "in the wilderness" denotes being outside civilised society.
In this context it means being outside of popular circles of thought.

 

[wandle]

The phrase 'in the wilderness' is used to mean 'neglected' or 'ignored'.
Here, the meaning is that the developer left it alone and did not update it.

 

[searcher123]

Thank you two so much, truly most enlightening in every way.