Sega Announces Petroglyph RTS Universe at War

Officials from Sega have officially announced Universe at War: Earth Assault, an original real-time strategy game for the PC in development by Petroglyph for release in North America and Europe in fall 2007. The game was first hinted at in September 2005 following the announcement of a partnership between the two companies, at which time the game was described as a “modern military / sci-fi themed RTS franchise.” Today's announcement clarifies those details, noting that Universe at War is "set in the near-future when multiple factions from across the galaxy have come to Earth to wage epic warfare." While the game will feature a single player campaign, development seems to have placed an added emphasis on the game's multiplayer offerings, with Universe at War drawing much of it's inspiration from “popular massively multiplayer online games and competitive online playable titles.” Part of this inspiration has resulted in the implementation of persistent battlefields, as well as customizable technology trees, and the ability to earn achievements, rewards, and medals during online play. Other features announced for the game include a dynamic battle system called "Tactical Dynamics," which officials note will allow players “to retrain and customize units in the midst of battle to better cope with enemy forces and tactical situations.” Having developed both Star Wars: Empire at War as well as that game's more recent Forces of Corruption expansion for LucasArts, Petroglyph is no stranger to the real-time strategy genre. In addition, the company also employs many industry veterans of the now defunct Westwood Studios, who helped create such notable genre entries as Dune II and Command & Conquer. "Universe at War: Earth Assault will surpass the limits of what gamers expect to see in an RTS game," said Sega of America's vice president of marketing, Scott A. Steinberg. "Petroglyph has a proven pedigree of critically acclaimed RTS title creation under its belt with team members that have worked on the original Command and Conquer and Command and Conquer: Red Alert. Universe at War: Earth Assault will be the culmination of years of development expertise in creating exciting and innovative RTS titles."