Midway San Diego takes over Rise & Fall

Like the cultures it celebrates, the development of Midway's historical real-time strategy game Rise & Fall: Civilizations at War has had its ups and downs. Today would seem to be a bit of both, with news that the game has received a new developer--and another delay.

Originally announced as a project from Stainless Steel Studios in February of last year, Rise & Fall: Civilizations at War was pushed back from its original winter 2005 release date. Little was heard of the game until a few months later, when Stainless Steel Studios closed its doors, reportedly because Midway wouldn't give the developer more money to keep it afloat during the added development time. All the publisher would say at the time was that Civilizations at War would rise again.

Today Midway announced that development of Civilizations at War has been handed off to its San Diego studios and will now ship in June. This came as something of a surprise considering last month's reports that the San Diego studios had been shuttered after completing development on Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows, reports on which the publisher refused to comment.

In Rise & Fall: Civilizations at War, real-time strategy fans will get the opportunity to get their hands dirty, taking direct control of eight historical heroes (to fight alongside the grunts) and more than 80 ground and naval units. And because civilizations are not built on military victories alone, scientists and researchers will help improve technology and secure economic well-being. The game will also include support for up to 8 players to mix it up in a variety of multiplayer modes.

While the San Diego studios' resume doesn't show much in the way of real-time strategy titles (the group developed the Ready 2 Rumble series and Freaky Flyers in addition to Seven Sorrows), the Civilizations at War team does contain team members who worked on Heroes of Might and Magic and Lords of EverQuest.