Spore action RPG spawning at Comic-Con

In less than two weeks, game developers and publishers will flock to Southern California to show off their newest entries at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con. LucasArts will give gamers more information on Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2, Bungie will be on hand showing more of Halo: Reach's campaign, but Maxis is using the stage to offer the very first details on its newest game.

According to a programming schedule on Comic-Con's Web site, a Maxis-developed Spore title will be announced on Saturday, July 24 in the hour between 6 and 7 p.m. PDT. According to the game's brief description, it is a "brand new, sci-fi action RPG based on the DNA of Spore." Additionally, lead developers on the project, Thomas Vu, Paul Sottosanti, and Lauren McHugh, will be on hand to announce the new game.

While the title does not yet have an official name, according to the official Spore forums, the game will be called DarkSpore. Individuals on the forums say a Web site, www.DarkSpore.com, was open for a brief period recently, and that the game will pit players against the nefarious DarkSpore alien race. What's more, the assertion comes with substantial merit, as Electronic Arts recently trademarked the name "DarkSpore."

Spore is the brainchild of gaming legend Will Wright and released in 2008 on the PC and Mac. The game, a multigenre experience, has since extended to other platforms and has seen multiple expansions. For more on the franchise, check out GameSpot's review of the original Spore.