Possible BioShock MMO in Development [Rumblings]

Some rumours were confirmed in the last week, and now new ones, or not so new ones it seems, have surfaced.

It was finally confirmed after a lot of rumours that a new X-com title, called XCOM is in development at 2K Marin. But something that could quite possibly be another title kept under wraps at 2K is a BioShock MMO.

This apparently isn’t the first time that this rumour has cropped up, and 2K has reportedly suggested in the past that they might have plans to do just this. About two years ago, in March 2008, it was said by the boss of Take-Two, Strauss Zelnick, that it was a potential possibility.

As for a particular studio working on the project, rumours have it that it’s 2K Marin, but remember that 2K Marin is working on XCOM, or at least the Australian branch is, mainly [complicated, I know].

It’s kind of funny though, when I think about it, a BioShock MMO could just work.

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Source: Rumor: BioShock MMO in the works [Destructoid]

Possible BioShock MMO in Development [Rumblings]

New X-Com Title Confirmed, FPS Title Called XCOM, First Screenshot

A rumour that’s been around a long time is that another series of games from the 90’s, X-Com, will be getting a modern resurrection of sorts. 2K Australia is planning to make another X-Com title, but with a twist: it will be an FPS, or first-person shooter, title this time.

For a while, it was suspected that 2K Boston, now known once again as Irrational Games, the team who worked on the original BioShock, would be working on this title. But Ken Levine is adamant that he has a game in development that is the first in a new IP.

2K Marin, developers of BioShock 2 was then also widely reported as the team handling this new title, referred to as XCOM, but it’s been said that 2K Australia is the lucky bunch that will head development on the project. 2K Marin and 2K Australia are sister studios, along with 2K Novato, 2K California, and 2K Canberra. 2K acquired the license to the IP from Atari a few years back.

2K president Christoph Hartmann:

"With BioShock 2, the team at 2K Marin proved themselves as masters of first-person, suspenseful storytelling, and with XCOM they will re-imagine and expand the rich lore of this revered franchise. Players will explore the world of XCOM from an immersive new perspective and experience firsthand the fear and tension of this gripping narrative ride."

Teaser site write-up:

XCOM is the re-imagining of the classic tale of humanity’s struggle against an unknown enemy that puts players directly into the shoes of an FBI agent tasked with identifying and eliminating the growing threat. True to the roots of the franchise, players will be placed in charge of overcoming high-stake odds through risky strategic gambits coupled with heart-stopping combat experiences that pit human ingenuity – and frailty – against a foe beyond comprehension. By setting the game in a first-person perspective, players will be able to feel the tension and fear that comes with combating a faceless enemy that is violently probing and plotting its way into our world.

There are some concerns about this whole XCOM FPS business though, seeing as X-Com: Enforcer, a TPS [third-person shooter], was a flop. The games before this were turn-based strategy titles similar to Jagged Alliance or Fallout, except they had you fighting against UFOs and aliens and such.

This new XCOM will be available for PC and Xbox 360.

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Sources:

Press release

“X-Com 'Re-Imagined' as FPS by BioShock 2 Dev” [Shacknews]

New X-Com Title Confirmed, FPS Title Called XCOM, First Screenshot

Duke Nukem Forever’s Gone Gold… or Should Have Anyway

Easter Sunday

                                 “I nearly saw the light of day… Yeah, right!”

The sob story over Duke Nukem Forever continues as some guy named Jason Bergman, formerly at publisher Take-Two, and now Bethesda Softworks, posted on twitter recently that the game should have gone gold this month if all had gone according to plan. And it should have happened on April 1st, 2010: April Fool’s Day. It wasn’t a joke either.

“MOMENT OF SILENCE PLEASE: by the 3DR/TTWO development schedule, April 1st, 2010 was supposed to be the day Duke Nukem Forever went gold.”  [1]

He went on to say that the planned date was "totally intentional. It was going to be hilarious." It’s been explained that when a game goes gold, it means that “development has been completed and the game is ready to be duplicated for distribution.” [2]

And this further means that the game would have been officially released later on in the year, and possibly arrived in Q2, 2010.

Jason was later asked to confirm this tweet to which he replied:

“I wholeheartedly believe that had things gone differently, they would have made that date.”

This is assuming that Take-Two hadn’t sued 3D Realms, and hadn’t let go of the DNF development team.

“Would’a, Could’a, Should’a” – but didn’t. And even though that date was supposedly the date, you mark my words that it would have been delayed again, and again, and again. Part of me sometimes thinks that it was justified putting DNF out of its misery, even though I hate to say it.

To think it was on April Fool’s Day last year that I put up a fake news piece that talked about DNF being cancelled. And it came true a month later, in May 2009.

Some people still think that 3D Realms as a company shut down last year, but this is incorrect. The team working on DNF was let go. The company itself is still around, and is still going through a legal battle with Take-Two.

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Source: [1] twitter [2] Variety.com

Duke Nukem Forever’s Gone Gold… or Should Have Anyway

The End for Duke Nukem, or is it Only Just the Beginning?

Lately there's been a resurgence of news regarding Duke Nukem Forever and the whole 3DR-T2 situation. The latest is that 3DR has filed a countersuit against Take-Two.

Apparently another Duke Nukem game was in development at 2K Games until this year when all of a sudden the project was either halted or cancelled. This game was to be titled Duke Begins- a working title, and was scheduled for a 2010 release. This was the game reportedly involved in the publishing deal between T2 and 3DR back in 2007 for $ 2 500 000.

3DR now believes that there's some sort of conspiracy, or another bully tactic, conducted by Take-Two and 2K Games to pressure 3DR to sell the Duke Nukem IP (Intellectual Property).

Some people report that 3DR might still be working on Duke Nukem Forever, even though the DNF team is gone.

So, that's TWO Duke Nukem games we might never see. Three strikes and you're out...

Sources:

3D Realms Countersuit Reveals Continuing Duke Nukem Forever Work, New Duke Game
http://www.shacknews.com/docs/press/20090518_dnf_3dr_.x

The End for Duke Nukem, or is it Only Just the Beginning?