Bethesda on the Brink in '10

Two weeks ago, Bethesda Softworks parent company Zenimax filed an application to trademark the title "Brink" with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The filing indicated a reveal was imminent for one of the projects in Bethesda Softworks' stable, with one of the most likely candidates being the closely guarded game in development at Enemy Territory: Quake Wars developer Splash Damage.

Today, Bethesda pulled the trigger on Brink, launching a teaser trailer loaded with information concerning the game. Namely, Splash Damage is indeed behind the conflict-heavy action title, which is expected to launch spring 2010 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. The trailer also lists Xbox Live and PlayStation Network platforms, indicating Brink will have an online component.

The trailer indicates that Brink will be set in a dystopian future, in which a select few individuals will weather an apocalyptic struggle in the safe confines of a sanctuary--while everyone else battles for their lives.

"They called it the Ark," the voice-over for the trailer begins, showing a towering edifice blurred in the distance. "It was their vision of the future--peaceful, sustainable, the pinnacle of science and engineering." After showing an idyllic sanctuary, the trailer then cuts to a zoomed-in shot of what appears to be a youthful man's eye.

Crackling gunfire replaces the dulcet tones established in the beginning of the trailer, as the narrator continues: "But it became more than that: It became the last promise of salvation on a dying planet. A promise for some, but not for all." The camera slowly zooms out, and the man's eye fluctuates through a range of emotions, with his face seemingly aging in a matter of seconds. As the narrator concludes his discourse, a trail of blood begins to seep from the man's forehead.

Bethesda signed on Splash Damage to a long-term development deal in May 2008. Details on Brink have been few and far between, with Splash Damage only surfacing in the intervening period to announce such high-profile hires as Fable II lead designer and Syphon Filter creative lead Richard Ham and Killzone 2 lead level designer Neil Alphonso.

Bethesda expects to show more of the title during the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo, which runs June 1-4. GameSpot will be on hand in Los Angeles to cover the event and deliver more information on Brink as it is revealed.

[CORRECTION] This article originally mis-stated the name of one of Splash Damage's recent hires, Richard Ham.