Update: Shacknews has received additional information from a source close to Midway. According to the source, Smith was still employed by Midway at the time he made his above statements. A Midway executive allegedly referred to Smith's talk as "his public resignation." [Edit: The executive in question was not in fact Midway's CTO, but a different executive. Shacknews regrets the error.] Midway employees were informed about the departure via email today.

Update 2: Midway media relations vice president Reilly Brennan has confirmed to Shacknews that Harvey Smith is no longer employed by the publisher.

Original story (Nov 30, 2007 2:21pm CST): Shacknews has separately learned from multiple reliable sources that Midway Austin designer Harvey Smith, who recently headed up the alien-themed shooter BlackSite: Area 51 (PC, PS3, X360), is no longer with Midway. One source explicitly alleges he was fired, but another suggests the departure was more mutual.

Smith recently made waves when he referred to the development of BlackSite as "so fucked up," citing problems within Midway and a general lack of proper management on the project. Over the course of the game's development and after its release, Smith trumpeted the game's political themes, characterizing it as "super fucking subversive." Smith has called for more developers to tackle complex issues in their... Read more

Speaking on the development of Midway Austin's recently-released FPS BlackSite: Area 51 (PC, PS3, X360), creative director and industry veteran Harvey Smith described the entire project as "so fucked up."

Smith elaborated on the difficulties he and his team faced during a presentation at the 2007 Montreal International Game Summit, reports Game|Life. Before joining Midway, he served as lead designer on Ion Storm's Deus Ex and project director on the sequel Deus Ex: Invisible War.

"With a year to go, the game was disastrously off rails," Smith noted. An emphasis on shared technology with another title was one obstacle, which he said resulted in "eight months to get one thing working."

Much like several other Midway-developed titles, BlackSite: Area 51 is powered by Epic's Unreal Engine 3. The company has publicly admitted that it had issues getting Unreal Engine 3 to function properly on PlayStation 3, resulting in PS3-only delays of Stranglehold and BlackSite.

Another issue came from Smith's lacking interest in the title as he was... Read more

Midway Studios Austin's alien-infested shooter BlackSite: Area 51 (PC, PS3, X360) has gone gold, Midway announced today. The game retails for PC and Xbox 360 November 12, a week later than expected, with the PlayStation 3 version following some time in December.

Along with Midway's John Woo Presents: Stranglehold (PC, PS3, X360), the PS3 version of BlackSite was delayed due to problems with using the Unreal Engine 3 on Sony's platform. Though a demo for the game has already hit Xbox Live, Midway promises a second demo will be arriving soon, with a demo for PS3 gamers coming to the PlayStation Network as well.

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There's a new Blacksite: Area 51 preview on GameSpot, offering hands-on multiplayer impressions.

Midway sent over some new Blacksite: Area 51 media today in the form of three screenshots and this movie focusing on the game's environments. The game is set for release on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this November.

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Midway reported a $14.3 million net loss for the second quarter of fiscal year 2007, down from the company's $31.0 million loss during the same period last year. The cut in losses comes partly from a 22.7 year-over-year increase in sales to $31.8 million, higher than Midway's estimates.

During the earnings conference call, CEO David Zucker gave updates on upcoming titles BlackSite: Area 51 (PC, PS3, X360) and The Wheelman (PC, PS3, X360). Previously set for a September release, BlackSite will now launch across all platforms on November 5 in North America and October 26 in Europe.

Zucker also said The Wheelman, a game based on a movie of the same name featuring Vin Diesel, has been pushed to a 2008 first or second quarter retail window. "We'll be shifting our release of The Wheelman starring... Read more

The recent Blacksite: Area 51 press onslaught continues with this interview on the game at Eurogamer. Lead designer Harvey Smith is asked about changes compared to the first Area 51, Smith's design principles, storyline, and the characters in the game.

Over at Eurogamer you can find a Blacksite: Area 51 preview, offering impressions and an interview with creative director Harvey Smith. There's also a Q&A with Smith at Computer & Video Games.

Midway sends along a batch of screenshots from Blacksite: Area 51, their Unreal Engine 3 powered sci-fi action game sequel. The game is set to ship for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this September.

There's a Blacksite: Area 51 preview on Pro-G, checking out Midway Austin's Unreal Engine-powered shooter. 1UP also has a brief preview, and Game Informer has impressions as well.

Over at IGN you can find a Blacksite: Area 51 preview, taking another look at Midway's shooter sequel. Includes new media.