Electronic Arts and Starbreeze Studios have been dancing around the idea of a rebooted Syndicate for years now under the name Project Redlime. Syndicate's first-person renaissance was just announced, and now EA's already talking about when we'll be playing it. Take a stab. Next holiday? 2013?

Actually, it's February 2012. You know, just a few months from now.

Gamasutra picked up on the date at an EA press event currently happening in Las Vegas.

We still haven't seen much about Syndicate, but with the release date not particularly fare off, one would expect EA's going to begin courting players soon enough.

Electronic Arts and Starbreeze Studios have been dancing around the idea of a rebooted Syndicate for years now under the name Project Redlime. Syndicate's first-person renaissance was just announced, and now EA's already talking about when we'll be playing it. Take a stab. Next holiday? 2013?

Actually, it's February 2012. You know, just a few months from now.

Gamasutra picked up on the date at an EA press event currently happening in Las Vegas.

We still haven't seen much about Syndicate, but with the release date not particularly fare off, one would expect EA's going to begin courting players soon enough.

Glad to see some content update to the site. I've been off the past two days and feel like I've been staring that Rotastic Viking for far...too...long...

I never player Syndicate, but I was a huge huge fan of Chronicles of Riddick. I love games that try to do oddball things with first person perspectives such as Riddick, Condemned, Call of Cthulhu, etc.

After playing Deus Ex I have to say I have more room for futuristic non-sensery in my life!

There is a sad lack of trench coat in that screen.

Actually one would wonder if it's any good since they have failed to market it all yet.

Don't know why this first person thing is being called Syndicate, but it could be an interesting game anyway despite taking a name from an IP it clearly has no connection to.

@Crash_Happy said:

Actually one would wonder if it's any good since they have failed to market it all yet.

Yea, that could be a red flag but I hope its more of them not wanting to market a game forever than the game being bad. I kid of like having a game come out like 6 months after its announced. Waiting years and years for a game is a bummer.

X-Com... Syndicate...

Jagged Alliance FPS coming up next ?

Woooooo!

@WilliamHenry said:

@Crash_Happy said:

Actually one would wonder if it's any good since they have failed to market it all yet.

Yea, that could be a red flag but I hope its more of them not wanting to market a game forever than the game being bad. I kid of like having a game come out like 6 months after its announced. Waiting years and years for a game is a bummer.

Starbreeze have a pretty awesome track record so far - even if the company has changed internally a lot recently. I'm hopeful.

@myslead said:

X-Com... Syndicate...

Jagged Alliance FPS coming up next ?

Probably. They also turned Front Mission into a shooter thing. "They" did it. The people who turn things into shooters. Blame Fallout 3.

With it being a FPS game now, I worry that it being released this soon it will be perceived as a retread of what Deus Ex just delivered.

@WilliamHenry: Yeah that's certainly true. I saw Rage being advertised on TV several months ago and was agog. I mean, who the flip is that advert aimed at? I always assumed, stupidly apparently, that anyone interested enough to pay attention to an advert that far out probably already knew about it.

Anyway until they get some sort of content out for Syndicate I think the odds are against it being any good. Changed to an FPS, zero media released, and as pointed out... No trench coats!

Write your congressman!

@Vitor: I hope you're right.

@Crash_Happy: I had the same thought. Electronics Arts use short announcement-to-release windows for downloadable games or box games that are sent out to die. EA's Create comes to mind.

haha all we need now is a fallout fps!

well, shit...

@patrickklepek: I'm gonna be the annoying guy and say you said "fare" instead of "far."

That over: Isn't that like, a very very short cycle from announcement to relase? But then this game's been 'rumoured' forever!

Is this stand alone or do I need to have Deus Ex:HR installed to play it?

More serious cyberpunk is good no matter the context.

Well this is unexpected.

I hope if this game crashes and burns that some executive doesn't turn around and say, "Hey, there was just no market for a Syndicate game." Of course would be, if you spent the proper amount of time developing it and figuring out what it was about the first one people so enjoyed. That's not to say this game will necessarily be terrible, but given the stupidly short amount of time between announcement and release, I'm going to venture that this isn't exactly what EA considers a front-runner for GOTY 2012.

Chronicles of Riddick was one of my favorite games in terms of atmosphere. Didn't dig the Darkness as much.

@august said:

More serious cyberpunk is good no matter the context.

Amen.

I've had mere passing experience with the original Syndicate games, mostly watching my older brother waste hours over the first game to much fascination, but even I must admit to being suspicious of EA's motives behind this reboot, as if it was a hasty decision they made observing 2k's own plans with reviving X-Com--sorry, XCOM--or the market reaction 'Deus Ex: Human Revolution' got? Or maybe both? Regardless, I Am curious since this IS Starbreeze we're talking about, and given their brief but rock-solid track record I'm expecting 'Syndicate' to be quite good...!

A FPS? Copycat.

Eh. I don't really see this as being as egregious as the XCOM reboot, anymore. As long as there's a varied mission structure and the ability to enhance yourself, and if you're expanding the aims of your Syndicate on a world-wide scale.

Starbreeze makes great first person games, so I'm always looking forward to their next joint.

@august: I remember it being leaked that Starbreeze were working on reboots for both Syndicate AND Road Rash but don't quite remember if the term 'FPS' was mentioned in any way...

Back in the day, there was nothing quite like setting a bunch of dudes on fire with the flamethrower.

Quite shocked at how close the release date is given that I haven't even seen any video of this game in action and only screen shots. Unless EA start marketing this game now it might fall under people's radar and hurt the sales which would be a shame since Starbreeze are a talented studio and deserve the attention.

@ryanwho said:

@myslead said:

X-Com... Syndicate...

Jagged Alliance FPS coming up next ?

Probably. They also turned Front Mission into a shooter thing. "They" did it. The people who turn things into shooters. Blame Fallout 3.

Hey, Fallout 3 was amazing, I'd imagine you might agree. I don't enjoy the idea of old IP's becoming shooters either, but if old licenses are being developed by studios today, publishers want to know that was is being created will sell - it happens to be that shooters have been the hottest genre for many years.

@Roger778 said:

@Atom: I'm pretty sure this is a Stand-alone game, so you don't need to worry about it. It's not an expansion to Deus Ex Human Revolution.

lol I know. I was just being a smartass

I loved the old Syndicate games, and kinda enjoyed both The Darkness And Escape From Butcher Bay, but still, this reboot feels weird. Granted, X-COM still takes the cake.

The fact that it's coming out so soon is a little worrisome.

Every copy of the game comes with a built in Persuadertron - all your friends end up buying copies, everyone loves the game.

For fuck's sake, I thought we couldn't rape ANY series more after Close Combat: First to Fight or Commandos: Strike Force.

I'm waiting for a Combat Mission cover-based shooter set in the distant future. Motherfuckers.

@gregoryc said:

@ryanwho said:

@myslead said:

X-Com... Syndicate...

Jagged Alliance FPS coming up next ?

Probably. They also turned Front Mission into a shooter thing. "They" did it. The people who turn things into shooters. Blame Fallout 3.

Hey, Fallout 3 was amazing, I'd imagine you might agree. I don't enjoy the idea of old IP's becoming shooters either, but if old licenses are being developed by studios today, publishers want to know that was is being created will sell - it happens to be that shooters have been the hottest genre for many years.

Most people who are arguing against these remakes already know this. They're just pointing it out for what it is. Saying, "Well, money," is tantamount to agreeing with them. Also, Fallout 3 wasn't a FPS.

@myslead:Funny you'd ask that.

Jagged Alliance: Back in Action.

Though, sorry. It doesn't actually appear to be an FPS.

Slated for Q1 2012 though!

Hey EA, how about System Shock next?

@Milkman said:

The fact that it's coming out so soon is a little worrisome.

Its been in development for years though.

"update" ???

c'mon Patrick I thought better of you

I'm going to wait for Cartel by Paradox Interactive instead.

This really seemed like one of those threads where you'd expect that at least one person on the first page of comments to say something to the effect of "I think I just pooped a little".

Starbreeze!

@gregoryc said:

@ryanwho said:

@myslead said:

X-Com... Syndicate...

Jagged Alliance FPS coming up next ?

Probably. They also turned Front Mission into a shooter thing. "They" did it. The people who turn things into shooters. Blame Fallout 3.

Hey, Fallout 3 was amazing, I'd imagine you might agree. I don't enjoy the idea of old IP's becoming shooters either, but if old licenses are being developed by studios today, publishers want to know that was is being created will sell - it happens to be that shooters have been the hottest genre for many years.

Fallout 3 was good. But the lesson people seemed to learn from it is, inexplicably, "revive a tactical RPG franchise, turn it into a shooter". It was fine for Fallout because Fallout's combat was kind of clunky. The part of Fallout people really gravitated to was the world and your impact, that stayed in tact. But Front Mission and XCOM are fan favorites largely because of the mechanics in the combat systems, so those choices are a bit stranger. Syndicate is one of those games people mostly like for the world so maybe it'll fair better and maybe it makes more sense. But as a fan of turn based strategy and strategy in general, this whole trend is a massive bummer. I don't want a Fire Emblem that looks like Skyrim or an Advance Wars that looks like Battlefield.

I get that the alternative here is probably either "we make this Syndicate that trends toward popular tropes of modern games or we don't make a Syndicate". So in that sense, this is better than nothing because making a proper Syndicate is probably not even on the table. But still. Like, I can't even figure how this game would work in first person. Is it Rainbow Six now or do you lose the party completely? I guess maybe they're like Fallout companions now? Idunno.

For people who don't have an attachment to the original games mentioned itt, I would ask you to imagine if "Starcraft:Ghost", the cancelled first person game, happened. And then Blizzard decided that was actually what Starcraft would be from then on. That would kinda bum some people out, right? Plenty of people like the gameplay the IP is known for and would prefer that over gameplay that's extremely common, more common by the month.

@SiN13 said:

With it being a FPS game now, I worry that it being released this soon it will be perceived as a retread of what Deus Ex just delivered.

WTF it's an FPS? No way. What a pathetic joke.

I really like that cyberpunks seems to have a comeback in games.

Are more details on the from public, specifically coop? Man, I'd love four player coop in that context.

Under the radar! Like a ninja stealth assassin.

Wait. Like a CYBER stealth ninja assassin.

The game is coming out that soon with very little marketing is really suspicious.

@Tylea002: Ugh - yes annoying and unnessesary.

@Meatsim: I'm more of a fan of just dropping games on us given most of the times it's just long waits with the periodic trailers or demos, but yeah while they've definitely been working on this for a while given the rumors for years, that we know almost nothing about such a relatively random new offering from a franchise from the early 90's seems a bit troubling.

@ryanwho: Have to agree. For me it boils down to the question is the IP worth it? And by that I mean either it has something going for it that will draw in the public's interest, which begs the question of why you are radically changing the fundamental gameplay, or it isn't...in which case why are we resurrecting a 20 year old IP?

While another argument could be made that if the fans want the original game why not play the original game, I'd say I didn't even KNOW I wanted another Street Fighter and now Mortal Kombat (let alone Starcraft) but here we are updated with some modern tech to boot without radically changing things. I'm not particularly perturbed by the changes, as you say the cold equations of the market are at work here, but it kinda bums me out that a Syndicate or other similar games now with online co-op or other modern trappings probably won't be made.

Though that said, I believe the announcement DID make mention of some type of co-op so a squad might be a part of the gameplay.