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Though we heard about a planned follow-up to the gravity-twisting Prey way back in March of 2008, things have been quiet on the game ever since. Now, according to filings found by superannuation, Bethesda parent company Zenimax has acquired the rights to the series.

Does this mean that id Software, which was recently acquired by Bethesda, is collaborating with the publisher on an incredible, post-apocalyptic open-world game filled with Native Americans and disturbingly vaginal doors? Yes. Yes, that's exactly what it means. But you didn't hear it from us.

Digital distribution retailer Direct2Drive is playing host to a pretty sweet deal for those who've been hesitant to pick up 2K's PC gaming offerings for reasons financial. D2D is offering a huge selection of their 2K Games catalog for half off until May 31. For just $9.95, you can nab Bioshock, Civilization IV, Serious Sam Gold, Prey and a few others -- or, for just $7.50, you can pick up the entire five-game X-Com series. That's $1.50 per game. If that doesn't blow your mind, you should really consider getting your frugality receptors examined.

[Via Big Download]

Wall-walking sci-fi shooter Prey is set to blast away on the iPhone. IGN reveals that the title, based on the shooter for Xbox 360 and PC, is set to be released on the App Store in the "next few weeks." There's no shortage of experimentation going on with iPhone software at the moment, so perhaps there's room for first-person shooters to bring in the hardcore.

Developer MachineWorks uses an "on-screen virtual analog stick" for players to control protagonist Tommy's actions, with on-screen "buttons" to shoot and use powers. A nice touch is that all the buttons are movable, so gamers can properly position them for maximum alien carnage efficiency. There's also various levels of transparency for the controls, so that you can have it just out of site and not cluttering your HUD. Look for Prey on iPhone it In when the title becomes available.

It's been nearly two years since the release of Human Head Studio's nausea-inducing FPS, Prey -- and subsequently, since 3D Realms' Scott Miller dropped hints of a sequel for the game. From July 2006 to yesterday morning, no news of Prey 2 had surfaced, leading some to believe the franchise had gone the way of the Duke. Luckily, Shacknews caught wind of a Radar Group website (which, for some reason, was taken down shortly after its inception) with some concept art and juicy, but brief, details about the game.

Tommy, the astral-projecting hero of Prey the first, will reprise his role as the brash protagonist. Blamed for the disappearance of his family, Tommy "escapes an Earth that no longer wants him for a future that cannot survive without him", according to the short-lived website. This short tidbit along with a single piece of concept art were all that Radar Group had to tease us with for now -- rumor has it that we'll be hearing more about the sequel some time this week. We'll let you know when that update narbuncularly drops into our hot little hands.

3D Realms has some big announcements coming in the next six months, but nothing about Duke Nukem Forever, according to new creative director Raphael Van Lierop.

"I can say that we have a big announcement coming in the next four weeks, and I'm not sure, but I believe we have another major announcement coming in the next four to six months," he said in an interview with Gamasutra. "While I can't say exactly what these are, are they about Duke Nukem Forever? No."

Since beginning the DNF project just over a decade ago, the company has managed to release 12 titles, which can be summed up as Prey, two Max Paynes and nine Duke Nukem iterations. Van Lierop said that their business model benefits from a "very collaborative relationship" with other developers.

If DNF isn't one of the company's next two big announcements, then we'll likely see another partnership, perhaps the Prey sequel that 3DR's CEO Scott Miller told Firing Squad in February was already mapped out from a "high-level story standpoint." The first big announcement will coincide with this year's E3 Media and Business Summit.

Fun fact: In the span of two questions, or 521 words, in the interview, there are 9 mentions to Duke Nukem Forever, totaling 27 words (with only one of those references by the interviewer). That's over 5% of the words used in that section!

Former Human Head CEO and chairman Timothy Gerritsen left the house that built Prey in November of last year to graze in greener, more independent pastures. Today his new game development studio Big Rooster has been formally announced, plunking Gerritsen in the growing list of game development folk striking out on their own.

Big Rooster will focus on developing original titles with an emphasis on "combining depth of design with top quality visual and audio game content". Digital distribution will be a major part of the plan and the studio has already begun work on its first game, Talisman, due at the end of the year.

FiringSquad reports that Human Head CEO Timothy Gerritsen has left the studio; in fact, he did so shortly before Thanksgiving last year. When questioned, Gerritsen said he departed on friendly terms, but was driven to leave because of creative differences. Gerritsen did not like the direction the other owners were steering Human Head in.

Gerritsen confirmed that he would remain in game development, though he declined to give specifics. Human Head co-founder and president Paul MacArthur has been acting as interim CEO.

Bully (PS2)
Bully is my current favorite and has renewed my faith in Rockstar as a forward-moving publisher. The familiar game mechanics don't feel stale in this decidedly more innocent universe. Bully relies more on mischief than shock value, a relief, as are the smaller scale and lower difficulty level (really, the missions are simply less frustrating than some of the tedious tasks that abound in the GTA series). Bully isn't deserving of 'Game of the Year' honors, but Rockstar Vancouver's effort is one of the most refreshing and outright fun titles of 2006. [See also: "Dissecting Rockstar's formula"]

Prey was one of the first Xbox 360 games to really have a good deal of hype before its release. While the game itself may not have fulfilled all the hopes and dreams of its followers, it did turn out to be a fairly solid shooter. The level designs were interesting, the weapons were cool, and the story was neat, if a little sparse. In a retrospective interview with CVG, Human Head's Chris Rhinehart speaks briefly about what's in store for Prey 2. Rhinehart hints that portals will definitely have a larger presence, and that enemy AI will use them more effectively. He also mentions a Prey mod which gives players a portal generating wrench (not unlike the gun in Portal). We can only imagine that Human Head is considering something similar for the sequel. He concludes by saying that the team has ideas that are "way beyond" what was seen in the first game and that Human Head will "definitely be taking things in a different direction next time." We really enjoyed Prey, and we're looking forward to what Human Head will do with a sequel.

What would you like to see in Prey 2?

[Via 1UP]

With digital distributor Triton now six feet under, those who purchased Prey are now unable to use their copies. Fortunately, 3D Realms has already set into motion a solution: by sending the disenfranchised boxed copies of Prey to their credit card addresses. Furthermore, Triton staff member OBWANDO promised that they're trying to get a patch through that removes the downloaded copy's dependency on Triton.

Tipster James raises an interesting question: what would happen if Steam shut down? Presumably, Valve would give enough of a warning to distribute patches that allow the games to work without Steam, but the Triton incident reveals some unintended ramifications of digital distribution.

[Thanks, James]

Thanks to the generosity of the fine folks at 3D Realms, Xbox 360 gamers can save their precious Microsoft Points for some more Gamertag pics, or maybe buy some video manuals and missing soccer teams from EA while PC gamers can ... well, they're in a constant state of saving for new video cards, so they can just keep saving.

The downloadable content for Prey has arrived and, as promised, it's free (as in beer). The Xbox 360 version has five new multiplayer characters and four new multiplayer maps, while the PC download has the same as well as some tasty bug fixes.

[Thanks to all the cheapskates that sent this in!]

Read - Prey 360 Additional Content Now Available
Read - Prey v1.2 PC Patch Release

This just in: downloadable content for Prey -- to be available "when it's done" -- will cost you nothing. Absolutely nothing! To be fair, the actual price is zero MS Points. We'll leave it to our readers to make the conversion to their particular currency*.

*Hint: it's nothing.

[Via Joystiq]

Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace is like the wild west; a new frontier where bold pioneers make the rules as they go. First, a swarthy, mustachioed gent named Beth Esda (hey, it's a dude's name!) starting charging folks for what he called "horse armor." This armor was little more than a fancy horse blanket, but Esda ran a tough gang, and folks were curious, so he did all right by himself.

Plenty of other shopkeepers came into town, hawking their wares with little regard for the "horse armor" precedent and finding some success ... and then a stranger came to town. D.D.D. Realms thought folks should get new multiplayer maps and skins for nuttin' so, before even opening up shop, he announced that all Native American-themed Prey content, both in his XBLA store and the PC store down the street, would be free of charge.

Of course, folks know all about D.D.D. Realms, who's been promising 'em some Duke Nukem flimflam since as far back as the '90s and, just like that product, this new Prey content will be available "when it's done." It remains to be seen if other shopkeepers follow his low-priced lead or if it's still every publisher for himself.

Microsoft released some updated retail sales numbers yesterday, and the results are good. First, the big M reiterated its goal of shipping 10 million Xbox 360 consoles by the end of Holiday '06, and 13-15 million by the end of the fiscal year in June '07. As for the numbers, the 360 has maintained a very high accessory attach rate at 2.9 accessories per console (apparently a record). Of course, this is somewhat misleading as Microsoft has made accessory purchases somewhat essential (battery chargers, play n' charge, memory card, etc.). It would be interesting to see what the attach rate is for optional accessories like faceplates.

Software attach rates are also becoming larger, with an average of 4.6 games sold per console. Most of our readers will know that 4.6 is a very high attach rate for games. Also mentioned in the announcement, the 360 has four of the top ten games sold in the US this month, including: Chromehounds, NCAA Football 2007, Prey, and LOTR: BFME II. Don't be shocked if Madden '07 and Dead Rising make that list as well.

Very encouraging numbers for Microsoft, indeed. Now if they could just get some momentum going in Japan ...

Some of you may have noticed an update last time you loaded Prey. This may or may not have been a recently announced patch from 3D Realms -- according to their site, the ETA for the patch is still "soon". Looks like ten years just wasn't enough time to test and polish all the bugs (I keed! I keed!). Seriously though, the patch should address the multiplayer lag issues on the 360 version and a few other bugs as well.

In addition to the patch, expect to see some new content soon. Included in the content will be some new maps tooled for smaller groups. These should accommodate 2-4 players (and possibly limit lag). 3D Realms will be releasing 6 new player models as well (4 female and 2 hunters). Thus far, none of this content has been priced and no release date has been given.

New content is great, fellas, but how about some more multiplayer modes?

[Via Joystiq]