Though Obsidian's Aliens RPG was thought to be cancelled, Sega has confirmed that it still plans to release the title along with its other two announced Aliens games.

Asked about the Obsidian's Aliens RPG and Gearbox's Aliens: Colonial Marines at E3, Sega told Joystiq that it will have "have more news to share about the other two games in the near future so stay tuned," adding that "[Rebellion's] Aliens vs. Predator will be the first to ship out of our triplet of Aliens titles; hence it was shown at this year's E3."

In addition, Gearbox president Randy Pitchford confirmed to Kotaku that a Nintendo DS edition of Aliens: Colonial Marines will hit alongside the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the cooperative shooter. However, Gearbox is not handling the DS edition.

Supposed footage from Aliens: Colonial Marines DS (viewable below) leaked before E3, with Contra 4 and Shantae veteran WayForward then pinned as the... Read more

Following the latest batch of rumors that Aliens: Colonial Marines was in trouble, developer Gearbox Software has indicated that it's still developing the title.

The Texas-based studio today told the press that it's hiring for "all projects," with the company's games page listing the squad-based Aliens shooter under the "in development" banner. That page was updated April 13, 2009--two months after the rumors hit.

Those same rumors accurately indicated the cancellation of Obsidian's long-in-development Aliens RPG, causing some to worry about the fate ... Read more

Update: On top of the previous report, Joystiq's sources claim Sega has stopped funding both the Aliens RPG and Aliens: Colonial Marines. Obsidian's layoffs are also said to have affected the team for Alpha Protocol, which Sega is publishing this year.

Original: Sega has reportedly cancelled the Aliens role-playing game that was being worked on at Knights of the Old Republic II and Alpha Protocol developer Obsidian.

The RPG was announced in 2006, but little has surfaced since. The cancellation resulted in more than 20 employees being laid off, according to Kotaku's sources.

Sega is also said to be "reviewing" Gearbox's shooter Aliens: Colonial Marines, leaving its fate unclear. Rumors that the game was put on hold emerged amidst November layoffs at Gearbox, but the studio quickly stated that the game was not "canned."

The publisher announced a new Aliens game, Aliens vs. Predator, just yesterday. Sega said that AvP would arrive in 2010 before the other Aliens games under development, but did not specifically mention the Aliens RPG or Aliens: Colonial Marines by name.

Earlier this week, Sega vowed it would cut research and development costs by 20% after revising its financial projections to account for an expected loss of $236.9 million.

A new Aliens vs. Predator game will arrive in early 2010, publisher Sega has announced, with the company noting that AvP will hit before its other two Aliens games.

That means Gearbox's shooter Aliens: Colonial Marines (PC, PS3, 360) and Obsidian's Aliens RPG won't debut until 2010, at the very earliest. Colonial Marines was originally expected last year, and was recently listed as a Q1 2009 release by Sega Europe.

Rumors that Aliens: Colonial Marines was put on hold emerged amidst layoffs, but Gearbox president Randy Pitchford quickly clarified that it wasn't cancelled. Meanwhile, Sega has remained rather quiet about the Aliens RPG since it was revealed in 2006.

The new Aliens vs. Predator title will be developed by Rebellion, which handled the 1999 PC shooter Aliens versus Predator, but had no involvement in Monolith's 2001 sequel.

No further details or platforms for Aliens vs. Predator were provided, apart from a promise it will be "innovative," with Sega vowing that more details are due "very soon."

Gearbox Software's squad-based Aliens shooter will be released within the next three months according to a release schedule from publisher Sega's European branch.

The schedule lists a "Q1 2009" release for Aliens: Colonial Marines, which was originally expected in late 2008. Sega was unable to tell VideoGamer if that was calendar Q1 (January 1-March 31) or fiscal Q1 (April 1-June 30), April will see Sega begin its 2010 fiscal year, suggesting that the date applies to the calendar year.

Rumors that the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 game was cancelled emerged amidst layoffs, but Gearbox president Randy Pitchford quickly clarified that it wasn't "canned."

While Sega often prefaces a major release with a number of screenshots and trailers, the publisher's been curiously quiet regarding the title, prompting some to speculate that the game could be further out, though a handful of previews recently emerged.

Shacknews has contacted Sega and Gearbox for more information.

Update 2: Pitchford has reiterated to Shacknews that production on Aliens is still ongoing, though he did not go into further detail on the status of the project, only stating that to say it has "halted" is an "inaccurate characterization."

Update: Gearbox president Randy Pitchford has responded to the rumors in a comment post, saying that Aliens: Colonial Marines has not been cancelled.

"Aliens isn't canned," said Pitchford. "We've made some transformative changes and yes, that's meant some talent changes, but that's not the real story. The true relevance of the story will actually be irrelevant until we release our next game, at which time I hope there will be a lot of interest in what we've done that can produce such results."

Original story: Production on Gearbox Software's shooter Aliens: Colonial Marines (PC, 360, PS3), a four player co-op shooter based on the classic film franchise, has been halted, according to multiple sources.

Several sources have also told Shacknews that Gearbox today laid off between 15 and 25 employees, with one putting the number at 26. These sources independently claimed that the poor performance of Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway and the stoppage of work on the Aliens title were contributing factors to the layoffs.

Though specific sales data on Hell's Highway is unavailable, the title debuted on the NPD group's weekly PC sales chart at ninth position, before quickly falling... Read more

Tucked away within the season finale of Jace Hall's studio-hopping web show was the first video of Gearbox's sci-fi shooter Aliens: Colonial Marines, which was penned by Battlestar Galactica writers and hits PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 next year.

The footage continues Hall's tradition of providing the first video of anticipated titles in brief off-screen snippets, as seen by the Duke Nukem Forever footage in the premiere.

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

Shackvideo users can use the HD Stream.

The first screenshots of Aliens: Colonial Marines--that weren't pulled from a fuzzy magazine--have been released by the developer Gearbox.

The shooter is set to sport four player co-op, recreating the tactical aspect of the marine squad from the classic sci-fi film sequel Aliens.

For more on the game, check out the first part of our E3 interview with Gearbox.

"This is no joke," said Gearbox president Randy Pitchford, and I had to agree. The more we hear about Aliens: Colonial Marines (PC, 360, PS3), the more exciting it sounds for fans of the original films.

Gearbox seems dedicated to staying faithful to the source material, and smartly expanding on it with a solid creative team. Four player co-op doesn't hurt, either.

Last week I had the chance to catch up with the Gearbox squad during a quick E3 lunch. During the interview, Pitchford explained the lengths that his company went to in order to make their game feel like an authentic piece of the Aliens franchise.

Randy Pitchford: One thing that's cool is some of the people we've been able to work with to help us [on Aliens]. The guys that write the Battlestar Galactica series, Bradley Thompson and David Weddle, they wrote our script. They're amazing guys. They gave us a lot, too. We could make a whole season of TV with the stuff they gave us. [laughs] We profited from the writer's strike, let's just put it that way. We talked with a lot of people, but those guys are so good.

And then a lot of the concept guys that helped make the movies. Like [Aliens concept artist] Syd Mead, that guy walks on water. And to be able to go to his studio, his house, and then have him draw a bunch of stuff. "Here's when I designed the Sulaco back when we made the first movie. Here's the original artwork. You want a copy, Brian?" And Brian's like, "Yes."... Read more

Publisher Sega today officially announced Aliens: Colonial Marines, the Gearbox Software-developed FPS title based on the popular movie series.

The squad-based shooter will support four-player cooperative play, and is set to hit stores within the year.

Featuring a story-driven single player campaign centering around a team of soldiers facing an alien assault, Aliens: Colonial Marines will attempt to recreate the look and feel of the original films while providing a tense FPS experience.

The game will also boast a four player co-op mode, with each player taking on a distinct role within the squad. Additional multiplayer modes will be announced at a later date.

Elements taken directly from the Aliens sequel will include pulse rifles, flamethrowers, and the Sulaco spaceship. A soundtrack described as "brooding" will also accompany the claustrophobic environments.

Weapons, skills, and equipment new to the Alien universe will also make an appearance, though none were specified.

Aliens: Colonial Marines will be released on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC in late 2008.

The sharp eyes at Gaming Target noticed that an Aliens teaser page on Sega.com revealed two companies involved with the new Aliens games mentioned this morning. The page, since updated, listed both Obsidian Entertainment and Gearbox Software in the copyright section. Obsidian most recently worked on Neverwinter Nights 2, while Gearbox is best known for the Brothers in Arms games. It's not much of a surprise seeing these two companies involved, as the official press release announcing the deal between Sega and 20th Century Fox mentions the development of a role playing game as well as a first person shooter. The press release also corrects this morning's Hollywood Reporter story in saying the first game will be released in 2009, not 2008.