AFL heading to 360, PC, PS3

With the Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation 3 already a few years old, Australian Football fans have long been wondering when their favourite game would be making its current-gen debut. Well it seems the wait won't be too long, because a local studio has confirmed that an AFL game is indeed in the works and is scheduled for the 360, PS3, and PC platforms sometime in 2010.

Melbourne-based Big Ant Studios is working on the game. A section on its Web site is emblazoned with the AFL logo but offers very few details on what gamers can expect from the upcoming sports game. Apart from the aforementioned platforms and the tentative 2010 release date, the only other thing confirmed about the AFL game is that it will "take advantage of the online capabilities of Xbox Live, Windows Live, and PSN. Two players will be able to play cooperatively or competitively online. Four players will be able to play cooperatively or competitively on the same console." There has been no word yet on a local publisher.

The last few AFL games have been Sony exclusives, with AFL Premiership 2005, 2006, and 2007 appearing on the PlayStation 2. While no word has been revealed yet on who the publisher is for Big Ant's new games, it seems their appearance on the Xbox 360 means Sony no longer has the exclusive rights to the sport down under. Sony, however, still has a PSP AFL game--AFL Challenge--due for release in July this year.

Big Ant was most recently the team behind the PSP version of Hellboy: The Science of Evil, as well as Spryo: The Eternal Night for the PS2. GameSpot AU has contacted a Big Ant representative and will be reporting back soon with more details.