Gearbox denies new Aliens: CM delay

By Fred Dutton Published 10 January, 2011

Plus, pours water on Borderlands 2 talk.

Aliens: Colonial Marines developer Gearbox Software has dismissed reports that the upcoming FPS has been pushed back beyond the end of 2011.

Yesterday Destructoid published a story claiming the game would not see release this year. Its source was a thread on the NeoGAF message board discussing an interview with Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford in the latest issue of US games mag EGM.

Pitchford has subsequently assured Eurogamer that somebody has their wires crossed.

"I haven't seen the issue of Edge [sic] that the NeoGAF story is referencing or what was printed, but I am certain that I haven't discussed anything specific regarding Aliens: Colonial Marines with anyone beyond emphasising how passionate I am about the title and how committed my studio and I are to making it great.

"It looks to me like whomever made that post on NeoGAF made an interpretation that could be misleading or inaccurate.

"I am excited that there is so much interest in the game that stories like this tend to pop up literally out of nowhere and from nothing," he continued, "and I am looking forward to talking more about Aliens: Colonial Marines very soon so that speculation and arbitrariness can be replaced with tangible, reliable and accurate information."

Destructoid's original report suggested that the alleged delay was due to the studio focusing resources on a sequel to its 2009 shooter Borderlands. Pitchford insists no such sequel currently exists.

"I respect Jim [Sterling, Destructoid journalist] and his audience and I'm a little surprised he didn't bother to try to e-mail myself or our folks before extrapolating that NeoGAF post even further. Jim even referenced Borderlands 2? What's Borderlands 2? Bah! And El Oh El!"

First announced back in 2006, Aliens: Colonial Marines missed its published 2009 release date and was then pushed back even further so as to steer clear of the Rebellion-developed Aliens vs. Predator shooter which launched last year.

Last we heard, publisher SEGA was planning a full reveal of the game in early 2011.

Picture of Fred.

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (20) Latest comment 10 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • bad09 #1 1 year ago

    We're on an express elevator to a 2011 release \o/

  • Distributor #2 1 year ago

    Aliens: CM blah!!!!
    World of borderlands 2. WIN!!!!!

  • SHPanda #3 1 year ago

    He never denied the existence of Borderlands 2, he cleverly dodged the topic, or was referencing that it wasn't called Borderlands 2, I seem to remember reading that it'd be called Borderlands Worlds or something.

    It's funny, in an article about people reporting false information by reading into something that's not in an interview, you go and do it yourselves.

  • Distributor #4 1 year ago

    Oh come on, dont mark me down :)
    We all know Borderland worlds or some such game will be better than a much delayed Marines game.
    Delayed, overhyped and hence the probability for failing is exponential.

  • arcam #5 1 year ago

    He didn't really deny the delay of ACM either.

  • HermitArcader #6 1 year ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:39 22-12-2011

  • patootik #7 1 year ago

    Randy Pitchford rocks, one of the most eloquent, funny and nice guys is the world of gaming. Friend of mine had a few beers with him at a gaming event last year and said he was a great guy. Borderlands was an absolute classic and hopefully Aliens will be great too. I'm not in love with the guy or anything, it's just that in an industry mostly populated by ego maniacs and PR spin men Randy and gearbox are a breath of fresh air.

  • Silent-Hal #8 1 year ago

    Hasn't been a good Aliens game in years. Odd considering most modern sci-fi games insist on ripping that movie off left, right and centre. Hope Gearbox can change that.

    It's unfortunate that Obsidian's Aliens RPG got canned. Aliens has a pretty rich EU, mostly comics, and had plenty of material to farm ideas for a Mass Effect style action-RPG.

  • costa_k #9 1 year ago

    A potential Dead Space 2 beater?
    Anyone knows if it will have any multi player modes?

  • Daikon #10 1 year ago

    I haven't been interested in the Alien franchise since the third movie came out nor have I ever had any inclination to play any of the games.
    However if Gearbox is developing it then it's an instant buy.

  • gav082 #11 1 year ago

    @costa K, its supposed to have 4 player co-op

  • photoboy #12 1 year ago

    What are you waiting for sweethearts, breakfast in bed?

  • McBradders #13 1 year ago

    Borderlands 2 is pertinent to my interests!

    *reads article*

    Oh :(

  • RodHull #14 1 year ago

    I wonder if the delays are related to Ridley Scott's forthcoming prequel? The game will probably sell a lot more copies whilst riding on the inevitable hype that movie will attract.

  • Olemak #15 1 year ago

    Gearbox har registered the trademark "Borderworlds", so that could be the name of the sequel. Or maybe they are going the MMO/Plantetside route with the franchise. I hope not, Borderlands was great the way it was, just need a bit more variety (the sohhoty bits were awesome, the drivy bits were OK, but seriously, there wasn't a whole lot more to the game. Still loved it tho).

    The Alien Prequel probably wont be released for a few years - production hasn't even started. Interesting thought, tho. If they have the resources to polish and expand the game for two more years, awaiting the movie premiere, then ALiens: CM could be the best Movie Tie-in game evah - if it is a varied, futuristic shooter and not just a "bug hunt", then it could be a challenger to the SoD thron.

    Big if's tho. But I think Gearbox has a bit of cash put aside after the success with Borderlands.

  • muscleblade #16 1 year ago

    "Borderlands worlds" doesnt make sense, but "Borderworlds" does.

  • obidanshinobi #17 1 year ago

    I would love for this game to be awesome but going on past experiences of delayed games and the industry as a whole I'm not optimistic.
    Gearbox's attitude appears to be that its a chore and an incovenience that they have to develop this game.
    They are already working on Duke, a new BIA game and one unannouced project (sequel to Borderlands).
    Aliens CM seems to be one of their lowest priorities, like they are finally getting round to putting some solid work in after much nagging from Sega.

    Like one of those promises you make to someone, then realise that you may not have time to do it, then after they have nagged you so much you just say "fine I'l do it, I'l get it finished" - this sums up the development of Aliens CM IMO.

    This attitude does not give much hope that the quality will be good enough for fans of the Alien franchise such as myself.
    I hope I'm wrong I really do.
    Bay 12 please.

  • StolenGlory #18 1 year ago

    "I wonder if the delays are related to Ridley Scott's forthcoming prequel? The game will probably sell a lot more copies whilst riding on the inevitable hype that movie will attract."

    IF this is the case then the game wouldn't arrive until 2012, since the film only recently hit pre-production and is being pegged for a summer 2012 slot.

  • Murton #19 1 year ago

    @patootik

    I wholly agree, Pitchford is one of the few studio heads that interviews well, a stark contrast to Molyneux who oversells his games and boasts features that don't actually exist and Todd Howard who just throws the word "fans" into every sentence despite knowing that his PS3 ports are the worst of any dev studio going today.

    As for Colonial Marines, I'm hopeful that it will release this year but if it does wait until next that's okay too. Gearbox are yet to make a bad game, every single one has been great in terms of both content and build quality and as long as CM follows that trend the eventual release date doesn't matter in my view, I'd rather have a great game late than a bad or broken game right now.

  • Tiffo86 #20 10 months ago

    I have been waiting for Aliens: Colonial Marines since 2008. First time it was pushed back was because the first developer dropped it so they had to find another. After that they were making sure that the game was in tip top shape for release without any problems. It is pretty much done now just going through testing and fixing up. I work at Gamestop so it's been on the preorder sheet for November 2011 for awhile and we get updates from the companies whenever possible.