Tron 2.0: Killer App announced

Xbox Live subscribers, prepare to be de-rezzed. Today, Buena Vista Interactive revealed that it is working on Tron 2.0: Killer App, which is an Xbox-exclusive port of its PC game Tron 2.0. This game "reimagined" the classic world of Tron, which was a game series based on the 1982 film. Both portrayed anthropomorphic computer programs that slayed each other in gladiatorial contests, which humans saw as mere video games.

While the original Tron 2.0 was developed by Monolith, work on Killer App is already under way at Climax, the creator of Sudeki and the upcoming MMORPG Warhammer Online. Climax was also the studio behind MotoGP, GameSpot's Best Driving Game of 2003. "We saw Climax as the perfect choice and look forward to providing gamers with an even edgier, action-packed Tron universe," said Bob Picunko, director of marketing for Buena Vista Interactive.

For those who prefer battling human opponents to semi-sentient programs, Tron 2.0: Killer App will be Xbox Live-enabled. According to the release, players will be able to engage in either lightcycle races or first-person shoot-outs on Microsoft's online service.

As for Killer App's story, it will be set inside a war-ravaged computer system that's being overrun by a horde of rogue programs that are controlled by an evil human user named Thorne. These programs will be able to corrupt others, thus causing them to rapidly outnumber the forces of order. Players will assume the guise of a human user who's been sucked into the computer world and assigned the task of destroying Thorne's army.

According to Buena Vista, Tron 2.0: Killer App will be available in the fall of 2004.