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SEGA has today announced that Gearbox’s Aliens: Colonial Marines has been delayed until February 12, 2013. Sad news for xenomorph fans, but it’s another delay in a concept that’s been kicking around for longer than a decade. While crossing our fingers and hoping this latest delay will be its last, we’ve put together a timeline of the game’s intriguing development:
Pre-2001 – Another Aliens: Colonial Marines game, unrelated but similar to Gearbox’s current effort, was in development by Check Six Games (developer of the critically-mauled Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly; the developer closed shortly afterwards) and intended for a PlayStation 2 release in 2001, published by Electronic Arts. It is never released.
December 11, 2006 – SEGA announces it has acquired the rights to the Alien franchise from 20th Century Fox.
February, 2008 – Gearbox’s Aliens: Colonial Marines is revealed via a GameInformer cover.
November, 2008 – Gearbox president Randy Pitchford insists that development on Aliens: Colonial Marines was continuing, despite reports of lay-offs at the studio.
January, 2009 – SEGA Europe announces that Aliens: Colonial Marines will be released in 2009 fiscal Q1, which is between April and June.
February, 2009 – Rebellion’s Aliens versus Predator is announced for early 2010. SEGA confirms that it will be the first of its Aliens titles to be released, confirming that Aliens: Colonial Marines has slipped. “By adjusting the release of our other Aliens titles to accommodate it, SEGA will ensure that every title lives up to the high expectations of Aliens and AvP fans,” said SEGA West CEO Naoya Tsurumi at the time.
June, 2011 – After a long absence, Gearbox releases new Aliens: Colonial Marines screenshots and confirms the game will be shown at E3 2011, with an expected release date of spring 2012.
E3, 2011 – “Aliens: Colonial Marines had done a convincing job of winning the respect of its audience,” says an impressed Neon Kelly after seeing the game at the LA trade show, when it’s also announced that the game will also be released on Nintendo’s freshly-announced Wii U.
January, 2012 – SEGA announces that the game has been pushed into fall 2012.
February, 2012 – The official box art for Aliens: Colonial Marines is released.
May, 2012 – SEGA announces that Aliens: Colonial Marines has been delayed until February 12, 2013.
