Kicking off its media blitz for Tokyo Game Show, Microsoft has released the first screenshots of Ruffian's superpowered open-world action game Crackdown 2.

An Xbox 360 exclusive, Crackdown 2 is slated to arrive at some point in 2010.

While details on Ruffian's freshly revealed Crackdown sequel remain few and far between, new information shows that the super-powered crime-fighting open-world followup will expand on the multiplayer offerings of Realtime Worlds' original.

Alongside single-player, Crackdown 2 will sport online cooperative play for up to four players and a separate online multiplayer mode for up to 16 folk, according to an official Xbox.com listing noticed by VG247. The first Crackdown, which hit Xbox 360 in 2007, only supported two-player online co-op in addition to its single-player mode.

An Xbox 360 exclusive, Crackdown 2 is slated to arrive at some point in 2010.

Here's the debut trailer for Ruffian Games' super-powered open-world action game sequel Crackdown 2, which was announced today for a 2010 release on Xbox 360.

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A sequel to Realtime's open-world shooter Crackdown was today announced during the Microsoft E3 press conference.

No other details on the game were revealed, though a short teaser trailer, detailing a more realistic aesthetic than the cartoony original, was shown.

Update: Microsoft has confirmed that, as rumored, upstart Ruffian Games--a new studio that includes Crackdown veterans from original developer Realtime Worlds--is handling development of the sequel, with the game due out in 2010.

The follow description of the game was also provided:

The sequel to the award-winning Crackdown, "Crackdown 2" is the premier open-ended action experience that lets you be judge, jury and executioner for a vast city. Coming exclusively to Xbox 360 in 2010, "Crackdown 2" will take multiplayer gaming to unprecedented levels for the ultimate cooperative and competitive multiplayer experience, providing you and your friends with the complete freedom to explore, destroy and play as you return to restore justice and peace to Pacific City--by any means necessary.

Though currently at work on the MMO APB, Realtime Worlds is still engaged in talks with Microsoft about a possible Crackdown sequel, according to videogaming247.

It was reported last week that Ruffian Games, a new studio founded by several former Realtime Worlds employees, might get the opportunity to develop Crackdown 2. Though the original was developed by Realtime Worlds, the property is owned by Microsoft.

In a statement, Realtime Worlds studio manager Colin MacDonald noted that the company is in "ongoing discussions" with Microsoft, though no offer has been extended. Should a Crackdown sequel be awarded to another company, MacDonald said Realtime Worlds founder Dave Jones would "be gutted not to be involved, but if it had to be that way, I would want to see it done justice -- by an established, renowned developer that had the track record of delivering the quality gaming experience Crackdown players would demand."

Ruffian Games would not be that kind of developer. "I also very much doubt that Microsoft would harm an otherwise fruitful existing development relationship by gambling on funding Crackdown 2 with a startup on RTW's doorstep, for obvious reasons," said MacDonald.

MacDonald also mentioned about five or six people had left for Ruffian Games, with the majority of the original Crackdown team still at Realtime Worlds.

A new studio titled Ruffian Games has been formed by ex-Crackdown developers, and their first project may be a sequel to the open-world shooter, according to Gamasutra.

Crackdown lead designer Billy Thomson and other key members have set up shop in Dundee, Scotland, and rumors indicate a Crackdown sequel might be their first project.

The first Crackdown title was developed by Realtime Worlds, which is now developing its cops vs. robbers PC MMO titled APB. Microsoft apparently owns the Crackdown property, which would lend credence to the story of a Ruffian-developed sequel.

Gamasutra also cites a recent Game Informer article as evidence that Crackdown 2 is in the works. The article stated: "[Realtime Worlds] is currently working on APB and not Crackdown 2. The sequel is in production with a different development team."

Currently in development on the crime MMO All Points Bulletin (PC, 360), Realtime Worlds studio manager Colin MacDonald said that there may yet be hope for a sequel to its super-powered open world title Crackdown (360) sometime in the future.

"I don't think the door's closed [on a Crackdown sequel]," MacDonald told Videogaming247. "Obviously, right now we're tied up with APB and everything else, but hopefully in the future we'll have the resource and something can be worked out with Microsoft."

After the completion of Crackdown, the studio moved directly into the development of APB, which is said to dynamically pit cops against criminals in a vast online city. MacDonald described the decision against immediately beginning development of a Crackdown sequel as "a horrible, horrible decision that we still dwell on... Read more