Europe getting Hazed May 23

In February, Haze was slated for May, but gamers were perhaps loathe to actually believe it, since the game had originally been planned for a release in the first half of 2007. The release date was then shifted to sometime before the end of March this year, and then put back further, to autumn.

Now Free Radical Design's first-person shooter for the PlayStation 3 has been given its (hopefully) final release window in the UK and the rest of Europe. Today, Ubisoft announced the PS3 exclusive will ship on both sides of the English Channel on May 23. The sci-fi shooter still remains without an official North American launch date, although online retailers are listing it as hitting stores on May 20.

The Haze date sets up an interesting battle. Yesterday, Electronic Arts announced that Rock Band would be coming to European shores as an Xbox 360 timed exclusive on the same day (albeit at a price of about £180 once peripherals are included).

Haze is set in the not too distant future, where governments have been outsourcing their military operations to private military corporations (PMCs). One PMC, Mantel Industries, has its troops dosed up on a drug called Nectar, which gives them heightened senses, reflexes, and strength. For more on Haze, check out GameSpot's latest hands-on preview.