After Fox Interactive passed on completing the 2000-2001 "Aliens: Colonial Marines" PS2/Xbox project, fans were left hoping somebody picked up the AVP series in order to ensure acid-blasting adventures continued online, and offline. Unfortunately, SEGA recently announced their seizure of the AVP series, while simultaneously dropping support completely for an Obsidian-developed Aliens RPG.

Boy what fun that would have been.


Now recently we've heard they pushed Colonial Marines back, as the Gearbox studios workforce took some hits, cutting jobs, the future of the Aliens franchise remains unclear.

One can only expect the AVP title will take precedence, as its already has an established fan base (though dwindled over the years with a lack of a sequel - discounting a particular PSP game that bears no relation to this afformentioned series.

One can only speculate that AVP3 will sell like proverbial 'hotcakes', putting bank back in SEGA's wallets, and offer up funding to continue work with Colonial Marines.

And then again, maybe this was something Gearbox really needed. After failing to succeed with their latest Brothers in Arms release, the company may have been seeking a nice rebound into respectable territory. Now they have lost support on a title with AAA potential. Can't be a good sign for them, and definitely isn't a good sign for investors.

-How to make money from a franchise-
Rule of thumb: Release content to build up a franchise.

-How to avoid becoming Fox Interactive-
Rule of thumb: Continue to release content for a franchise.

With the potential of an Obsidian-developed Aliens RPG nullified before we'd even seen footage, all eyes of a kind are on Sega, Gearbox, and ol' Acidspit.

Sega has reportedly cancelled the Aliens role-playing game that was being worked on at Knights of the Old Republic II and Alpha Protocol developer Obsidian.

The RPG was announced in 2006, but little has surfaced since. The cancellation resulted in more than 20 employees being laid off...

Mr Gray via shacknews.com »