Wideload Shorts salutes Cyclomite

Wideload Games, founded by former Bungie Studios president and founder Alex Seropian, announced in August that it would be expanding its operations into the downloadable-game market. Scott Corley, former president of Red Mercury, was appointed to head up the new studio, which now flies the banner Wideload Shorts. Speaking to GameSpot, Corley revealed that Wideload Shorts was well into its first project, and that it would be available later in 2007.

The release date didn't quite play out according to plan, but Wideload Shorts revealed today that its first project is Cyclomite and will be available for PC download in January 2008. An interstellar shooter, Cyclomite drops players into the cockpit of the titular spaceship, where they must navigate meteor storms and somehow save the universe. The game features both competitive and cooperative multiplayer modes boasting "hundreds" of different levels for co-op play.

Cyclomite will be the debut game for GarageGames' online portal InstantAction. Rising from GarageGames' acquisition by IAC last month, InstantAction promises to deliver a wealth of Web browser-based games from a variety of studios. As with Cyclomite, the service officially goes online in January. A placeholder site is currently up, but interested gamers can submit their e-mail addresses for updates on the site.

Today's announcement also noted that Seropian will deliver the keynote address at this year's Independent Games Conference. The event is scheduled to take place in Wideload's hometown of Eugene, Oregon, on October 10-11, and will offer a first look at the newly revealed title.