Alpha Protocol golden

Originally announced in early 2008, Alpha Protocol has already been delayed over a year past its original first-quarter 2009 launch window. However, in February, publisher Sega gave the game a hard release date of June 1 in North America and May 28 in Europe.

Unlike Alpha Protocol's previous release schedule, the latest ship date managed to stand. Today, developer Obsidian Entertainment announced that the game has gone gold and will ship on time. The game will be available on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, as well as the PC as part of Microsoft's Games for Windows line.

Alpha Protocol is the first original property from Obsidian Entertainment, which was formed in 2003 by a group of former Black Isle Studios developers. To date, the studio's body of work has consisted of follow-ups to other developers' blockbusters. Neverwinter Nights 2 and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II were sequels to BioWare hits, while the upcoming Fallout: New Vegas builds on Bethesda Softworks' successful franchise. (Check out GameSpot's brand-new preview for more details.) Obsidian had also been working on a new Aliens role-playing game for Sega, but that title was unceremoniously canceled last year.

With a story similar to Robert Ludlum's popular Jason Bourne novels, Alpha Protocol follows Michael Thorton, a secret agent who goes rogue after being disavowed by his government. In the game's branching storyline, players can assume several undercover personas, ranging from a suave James Bond-style spy to a ruthless agent a la 24's Jack Bauer.