Olympian Phelps diving into gaming

The Olympic Games are always an occasion in their own right, but this year's Beijing outing was of special significance, thanks to Michael Phelps. The three-time Olympian surfed a wave of record-setting performances in the Water Cube to become the all-time most decorated athlete to compete, winning eight gold medals in a single Olympic Games. His reward? Undoubtedly more than a few, but one of them will be a video game in his honor.

Following online reports, 505 Games announced today that it has signed Phelps to headline a competition-oriented swimming game. The as-yet-unnamed game is in development at 505 Games' newly formed LA studio and is slated to be released on unspecified consoles and the iPhone in spring 2010.

Aside from the game's obvious swimming bent, details on the project are slim. 505 Games did say that it plans to incorporate more than just Phelps into the title, with "some of his teammates" also possibly making an appearance. The publisher also said that a portion of the game's proceeds will be donated to the Michael Phelps Foundation, which works to promote water safety and encourages kids to pick up the sport.