More On Alien: 'Action' Title, New Studio
So, a few more details on that Alien game now there’s a moment to breathe. I was visiting Creative Assembly when they made the announcement, which ended up getting revealed earlier by UK government culture secretary Ed Vaizey before us hacks could get there.
CA aren’t talking much about the game yet, not even a planned year of release or which platforms it will or won’t be on - if you've read anywhere else claiming it's console only, they've got their facts wrong, as CA are resolutely refusing to 'fess up anything, other than that it will be on some manner of console. A PC version in addition has been neither confirmed or denied or even hinted at in either direction. So let's remain optimistic, given CA have in general been a PC dev and SEGA's last Xenomorph-related game, Aliens versus Predator, definitely did see a Windows version.
What we do know that it's described only as an 'action' game and will be tackled primarily by the team who made Viking: Battle for Asgard on the console toys. However, CA are staffing up hugely to tackle this game. They’re increasing their UK headcount to 200, and picking up a new 10,000 sq ft studio for the purposes of this. If you’re a UK dev looking for work, you might want to take a peek at their job listings.
I’m told they’re adamant they’ll take their time over it, having felt that Viking perhaps didn’t get all the resources it needed, and that they’ve been playing with the concept to varying degrees for around three years already, since Viking launched.
So, that’s that for now – it may be some time until we hear much more about the game, apparently. But we can take two things from the table today: a) it’s Alien, not Aliens, and apparently won’t be just another space mariney shooter b) it’s really bloody good news for the UK game development scene. 200 people is a big studio, and to hear SEGA are investing in an era where you’ve got Activision closing fellow UK outfit Bizarre and other local devs like Black Rock are laying people off makes for a patch of sun during dark days.
Oh, and Vaizey said that “The graphics are amazing, the concept is amazing.” Then again, he is by his own admission not a particularly avid gamer even though he supports the industry, so he may just be guessing.