Charlie Murder stalking XBLA in 2012

Ska Studios may be a small-time indie developer, but The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai creator is quickly cultivating a full-fledged product portfolio on Xbox Live Arcade. Having announced a sequel to its hyperviolent beat-'em-up, Dishwasher: Vampire Smile, in February, the studio today said that it would be upgrading its latest beat-'em-up Charlie Murder from Microsoft's Indie Games platform to full Arcade status.

As a result of the higher-profile platform, Ska Studios also said that the game has been pushed well beyond its previously announced, and already-passed, March window. Charlie Murder is now expected to arrive in sometime in 2012, a date it notes coincides with the end of the world.

Before transitioning Charlie Murder to Xbox Live Arcade with an extended development timeline, Ska Studios described the game as a four-player beat-'em-up that chronicles the travails of the titular frontman and the members of his eponymous band. Gamers aid Charlie in recovering his kidnapped girlfriend, Skelekitten, from the clutches of the band's heavy-metal rivals.