In a new interview with Maximum PC, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford claims that Valve's dominance in the PC digital distribution arena could come to hurt the industry, citing a "dangerous" conflict of interest and a lack of competition that has already lead to the exploitation of smaller developers.

"I'll tell you what, Steam helps. As a guy in this industry though, I don't trust Valve," said Pitchford, who later clarified that while he personally trusts the company, "a lot of the industry doesn't."

"Valve is taking a larger share than it should for the service it's providing," he said. "It's exploiting a lot of small guys. For us big guys, we're going to sell the units and it will be fine."

Pitchford explained that since Microsoft "is focused on the console... Read more

A new interview with Gearbox president Randy Pitchford contains two important notes for fans hoping to see a videogame based on the film Heat: Gearbox probably won't be making one, but there is a chance another studio will.

"In a nutshell, we're nowhere," said Pitchford to GameSpot. "We have passionate game makers that would love to do it. We've got filmmakers that think it's a great idea that would love to see it done. We have publishing partners that would love to publish it. But we have no time. That's the limiting factor."

Gearbox's Heat was announced in 2006, a collaboration between the developer and Regency Enterprises. Gearbox met with Heat director Michael Mann... Read more

A simple Twitter update from Microsoft has ended the long-running rumors that Brothers in Arms and Borderlands developer Gearbox is crafting a new Halo game.

"Gearbox is NOT working on a Halo title for Microsoft," reads the update, with Joystiq having confirmed the account as a legitimate source for Microsoft statements.

Rumors of Gearbox helming Halo 4 cropped up last year, bolstered by its past experience with Halo PC and word that though Gearbox has lost its platform technology director to Microsoft's Halo team, she would somehow still "continue to help" Gearbox.

At the time, Gearbox president Randy Pitchford was teasing a "look-at-our-line-up-and-imagine-something-even-bigger kind of big" project, though recent revelations suggest he may have been referring to the studio's new Duke Nukem game.

The mysterious "well-known videogame developer" behind new Duke Nukem series entry "Duke Begins" is Gearbox Software (Brothers in Arms, Aliens: Colonial Marines, Borderlands), Take-Two has revealed in court filings uncovered by Shacknews. Gearbox was named within Take-Two's answer to a counterclaim filed by series creator 3D Realms/Apogee Software Ltd. The increasingly complicated lawsuit sees publisher Take-Two going after 3D Realms for the incomplete state of the long-in-development shooter Duke Nukem Forever, with 3D Realms labeling the lawsuit as a "bully tactic."

Duke Begins emerged from a 2007 Agreement between 3D Realms and Take-Two, with development taking place at an external third party studio now known to be Gearbox. As part of the deal, 3D Realms received a $2.5 million advance to help fund... Read more

With Brothers in Arms and Borderlands developer Gearbox having recently filed for a quartet of "War Hero" trademarks, the studio today confirmed to Shacknews that the new franchise is "something down the road."

Explaining that the trademarks reveal "a bit about our interests in the development of another original intellectual property," Gearbox Software president Randy Pitchford said that "we haven't even talked to any potential partners" in regards to War Hero.

"So we're certainly not ready to talk about it publicly at the moment," he noted.

Pitchford added that the studio is currently "all gaga" over its October-due shooter-RPG Borderlands, with attentions "focused squarely on kicking ass." Gearbox is also working on the long-awaited Aliens: Colonial Marines, due out no earlier than next year. In all, the studio has five projects in the works, with at least two of them remaining mysteries.

Update: Pitchford further tells us that War Hero is not among the three mystery projects currently listed on Gearbox's "games in development" page.

New trademark registrations from Gearbox Software seem to suggest that the company behind the World War II shooter series Brothers in Arms and Wii maraca-shaker Samba de Amigo is plotting (or at least protecting) a new "War Hero" franchise.

The studio recently filed for four trademarks related to that phrase--World War II Hero, War Hero, Brothers in Arms War Hero, and Modern War Hero--as noticed by superannuation. Each filing is listed under the general category of "computer game programs and computer game software."

At present, Gearbox has three mystery projects and two known titles--Borderlands and Aliens: Colonial Marines--in development. Borderlands (PC, PS3, 360) is slated to hit this October, while Aliens (PC, PS3, 360) is expected no earlier than next year.

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 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

Have you ever wanted to party with real game makers? Are you in the Dallas area? What are you doing Friday night?

The Gearbox Software team has invited the Shacknews community to party with them at its Victory Party this Friday and celebrate the impending arrival of the its latest efforts: Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway (PC, PS3, 360) and Samba de Amigo (Wii).

Set in Dallas' Palladium Ballroom, the event kicks off Friday, September 5, at 8:30 PM and runs until "whenever," with both Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway and Samba de Amigo playable in advance of their late September debut at retailers.

Musical guests scheduled to perform, you wonder? Candy West & The Whatchamacallits, Josh Taylor, and DJ Jazzy Jeff featuring SKILLZ.

To attend, simply hit up the RSVP page and fill in the relevant details. But act fast--once the RSVP limit is reached, the page will disappear into the internet ether.

A Gearbox representative has confirmed with Shacknews that staff member Corrinne Yu has indeed taken a position at Microsoft, and clarified that has she served as Gearbox's director of platform technology, not technology director, for the past six months.

Word of Yu's impending departure from Brothers in Arms creator Gearbox recently emerged in unconfirmed reports, with the programmer said to have taken the role of principle engine architect on Microsoft's Halo franchise team.

"I accepted the offer to lead the team to build the engines and games for future Halo's on Xbox'es and PC's at Microsoft," read an e-mail purportedly sent by Yu that was later acquired by the press. "I assure you I will continue to help Gearbox."

Her husband, id art director Kenneth Scott, appears to have accepted a position at Microsoft at well, though his exact role is unknown.

In its communication with Shacknews, Gearbox stressed that Sean Reardon has served as its technology director for many years and oversaw Yu's platform technology work. The confusion between the two titles in recent media reports is said to have created challenges for both Yu and Reardon.

The Gearbox representative added that Yu is "an intelligent, passionate and inventive programmer" and that they are "excited about her new role at Microsoft," but did not address recent rumors that Gearbox is developing Halo 4.

Update: Gearbox has confirmed Yu's departure with Shacknews, adding that she served as director of platform technology, not technology director.

To clarify, Gearbox stressed that Sean Reardon has served as its technology director for many years, and that the confusion between the two's titles in recent media reports is said to have created challenges for them both.

Original Story: Amidst rumors and speculation that Brothers in Arms creator Gearbox has been tasked with developing Halo 4 for the Xbox 720, Kotaku reports that Gearbox technology director Corrinne Yu will soon depart to lead Halo technology development at Microsoft.

"I accepted the offer to lead the team to build the engines and games for future Halo's on Xbox'es and PC's at Microsoft," reads a message supposedly penned by Yu. "I assure you I will continue to help Gearbox."

The message further stated that Yu, pictured above, will begin her new role as "Principle (Lead) Engine Architect of Halo Franchise Team" beginning September 15, 2008.

id art director Kenneth Scott, Yu's husband, appears to have joined his wife in her move to Microsoft's Washington headquarters, as he is no longer listed among id Software's staff and is now a member of the Microsoft Facebook group.

Microsoft has been beefing up its internal Halo team in recent months, with former Bungie content designer Frank O'Connor leaving the studio to work more closely Microsoft on Halo projects.

Rumors that Gearbox was handling Halo 4 emerged earlier this week... Read more

Update: Gearbox Software has been approached by Microsoft to make a new Halo game, according to Variety.

"Gearbox has definitely had conversations with Microsoft about doing a new 'Halo' game and is very excited at the prospect," says writer Ben Fritz, relaying a conversation with an anonymous source "close to Gearbox."

Original Story: Halo 4 is in development at Gearbox Software and will launch alongside the Xbox 720, going by a rumor in the latest issue of Official Xbox Magazine, as relayed by Joystiq.

Gearbox, which helmed the PC port of the first Halo and is wrapping up the WWII shooter Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway (PC, PS3, 360) and the maraca-shaking music game Samba de Amigo (Wii), recently teased it was working on a "big" project.

"It's big. It's, like, look-at-our-line-up-and-imagine-something-even-bigger kind of big," Gearbox president Randy Pitchford wrote on the company's forum back in February. "When you find out what this is, you'll likely agree that I can't oversell this ... Read more

Gearbox Software today announced a partnership with advertising company Double Fusion to bring in-game advertising to future Gearbox titles.

Under the terms of the deal, Double Fusion is to provide Gearbox with dynamic advertising technology to support the delivery of in-game ads and integrated sponsorships in upcoming Gearbox games. The companies stated that they will "work together to ensure that all advertising programs are appropriate and add value to the gamers' experience."

As of this time, Gearbox has not disclosed which of its upcoming titles—such as Aliens: Colonial Marines (PC, PS3, X360) and Borderlands (PC, PS3, X360)—will incorporate the ads.

Several companies are expanding within the lucrative sphere of in-game advertising. EA and Microsoft recently extended a deal in which Microsoft's in-game ad arm Massive, Inc. would provide streaming advertisements for upcoming EA Sports titles on the Xbox 360.

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.

There's a Samba de Amigo preview on GameSpot, offering brief impressions of the Gearbox Software Wii game.

With Marvel Universe Online (PC, X360) officially canceled and the studio no longer involved with City of Heroes (PC), the latest effort from superhero MMO developer Cryptic Studios is Champions Online, a super-powered MMO planned for PC and consoles.

Word of the project comes from a writeup detailing gaming publication Game Informer's March issue. No further details are available at this time.

Gearbox's upcoming Aliens shooter will be called Aliens: Colonial Marines when it hits PC and unspecifid consoles--most likely PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360--in 2009, the article revealed. It also contained the official title of Volition's next Red Faction entry, Red Faction: Guerilla.

Computer & Video Games has been updated with a new Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway preview, taking a quick look at Gearbox's WW2 action game.

Shacknews has learned that multiple Unreal Engine 3 licensees have been served with subpoenas in an effort to obtain their confidential engine contracts for use as evidence in Silicon Knights' coming court battle with Epic Games.

The two companies became embroiled in a legal feud after Silicon Knights filed suit against Epic last July. As part of its lawsuit--the allegations of which include Fraud, Negligent Misrepresentation, and Breach of Contract--Silicon Knights demanded all profits from the Epic-developed blockbuster shooter Gears of War in the form of awarded damages.

The subpoenas mark the first time that developers other than Epic have been entangled in the dispute. Companies that have licensed Epic's Unreal Engine 3, and are potentially now involved in the suit, include Electronic Arts, 2K Games, Ubisoft, and the United States Army, among many others.

"I'm leaving the litigation to the lawyers but, if this is the case, I'd like to apologize to any of our licensees who Silicon Knights have inconvenienced," remarked Epic VP Rein when contacted today by Shacknews. "We know that, like us, they just... Read more

Amidst an already busy CES, Microsoft also announced nine new titles set for Games for Windows branding, to be released in 2008.

• Alone in the Dark, Eden Studio (PC, PS3, X360)
• Bionic Commando, GRIN/Capcom (PC, PS3, X360)
• Conflict: Denied Ops, Pivotal Games (PC, PS3, X360)
• Empire: Total War, Creative Assembly (PC)
• LEGO Indiana Jones, Traveller's Tales (TBD)
• Microsoft Train Simulator 2, Microsoft Game Studios (PC)
• Sins of a Solar Empire, Ironclad Games (PC)
• Space Siege, Gas Powered Games (PC)
• Tomb Raider: Underworld, Crystal Dynamics (PC, PS3, X360)

Microsoft did not disclose whether any of these titles will support Live for Windows, cross-platform play or achievements. This newest roundup of games will join an existing roster of anticipated releases in 2008, including Gearbox Software's Borderlands (PC, PS3, X360) and Fallout 3 (PC, PS3, X360) from Bethesda Game Studios.

The persistent hype of all flavors surrounding Ubisoft Montreal's Assassin's Creed (PC, PS3, X360) seems to have paid off, as the title sold more than 2.5 million copies in the four weeks following its Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 launch. The figure makes Assassin's Creed the fastest-selling new video game property ever in the U.S., the company claimed in a statement.

Based on these startling numbers, Ubisoft has revised its current fiscal year estimates, predicting sales of 5 million units of Assassin's Creed rather than 3 million through March 30, 2008. In fiscal terms, the company bumped its revenue prediction to 840 million Euros ($1.23 billion), up from 825 million Euros ($1.21 billion).

The company is so confident in its financial position that it has pushed the release of three anticipated titles into the next fiscal year: Ubisoft Montreal's Far Cry 2 (PC), Ubisoft Shanghai's Tom Clancy's EndWar (PC, PS3, NDS, X360), and Gearbox Software's Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway (PC, PS3, X360). All three titles will now retail sometime in the coming fiscal year, which begins on April 1, 2008.

This is the third time in recent months that Ubisoft has delayed multiple titles, with Free Radical's Haze (PS3) bumped to an early 2008 release last month and Ubisoft Montreal's Splinter Cell: Conviction (PC, X360) pushed into the next fiscal year. Earlier this year, the company delayed four unspecified titles.