Dark Athena 'just about done'

When Activision and Vivendi Games combined their businesses earlier this year, more than a few Sierra Entertainment games suddenly found themselves without a publisher. Among the projects that did not make the cut were Double Fine Productions' Brutal Legend and Terminal Reality's Ghostbusters.

But even before the Activision-Vivendi merger turmoil, one game whose fate was in question was Starbreeze Studios' The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena. Though Sierra had officially announced the game for a release in late 2007, neither publisher nor developer offered any details on the project after its projected release window came and went.

Luckily for fans of 2004's critically lauded The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, not only is Starbreeze still at work on Dark Athena, but the project is nearly done. In a succinct message on Starbreeze's official forums last week, the Web site administrator said, "Dark Athena is just about done." As had been surmised following Activision's "streamlining" of Vivendi Games, the poster also confirmed that "the big boys are deciding who is going to publish it."

The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena includes a full version of Escape from Butcher Bay as additional levels set after the original's conclusion. The game will be released on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and both editions will feature online multiplayer. In 2007, executive producer Pete Wanat promised, "All the textures are being redone so it truly looks like a next-gen game." At the time, the producer also confirmed at that time that Starbreeze, Universal Pictures, and Diesel's Tigon Studios were all collaborating on the project.