Wing Commander Arena Confirmed For Xbox Live Arcade // UPDATE

Almost immediately after the recent surfacing of rumours regarding an Xbox 360 reincarnation of Wing Commander, Electronic Arts confirmed that the antique sci-fi series is indeed headed for Microsoft's console. Not as a full-priced title, however, but only an XBLA gameling called Wing Commander Arena, and developed by Gaia Industries. That would be the same studio that's currently working on Street Trace: NYC (website), also for the Xbox Live Arcade.

Wing Commander Arena was first spotted on the ESRB website a couple of days ago, with a rating of "E" for "fantasy violence". And now Gamasutra brings official word from Electronic Arts that the game is due for release this summer on XBLA, with support for 16 players. They also provide some additional bits of info:

"Arena brings arcade-style multiplayer battles to the Wing Commander universe with player competing in their customizable ships for highest frag count, high score, and dueling stats.

Electronic Arts has revealed that Arena will feature four styles of play, including single player, team based multiplayer, free for all multiplayer, and a multiplayer duel. The game features eight maps covering all of the above game types, which, EA notes, will offer gamers customizable experiences from quick "ten minute action" games, or a "longer more immersive game"."

Things just keep looking better and better for the Xbox Live Arcade, with a highly-anticipated adaptation of Team17's Worms also waiting to get Microsoft's approval. They're "very close to being able to celebrate it's release though, although it's almost happened twice before, so [they] better keep quiet and hope that [they] get the green light soon".

UPDATE: We now have the first screenshots from Wing Commander Arena!

(N.B. Archive text, links removed)