Microprose's PC Tactical sci-fi game, X-COM: UFO Defense has spawned many sequels since the originals release in late 1993. The odd thing is that the franchise has not seen a new entry since 2001's action spin-off X-COM: Enforcer. If you're a fan of the franchise, then here's some good news for you.

Shacknews speculates that Irrational Games may be working on a successor to Microprose's PC Classic.  A cached version of a CV document of firm partner Frederick U. Fierst has this interesting entry:

Ken Levine and Jonathan Chey, founders of Irrational Games LLC, Boston and Canberra,
Australia-based video game development company whose titles include System Shock 2, Tribes 3,
SWAT, X-Com, BioShock, Freedom Force and others;

Furthermore, studio head Ken Levine has often referred to the game as his "first love" and usually mentions it as a strong example of game design that stands the test of time.

What adds fuel to speculation is that Take-Two Interactive acquired the X-Com property in full from Atari in 2005, just a few months before Irrational Games was acquired by the publisher. As juicy as all these are, this is still mostly rumor as Levine has yet to comment on Irrational's potential developments.

The current version of the said CV document has had the relevant reference removed from it. To read the cached CV document yourselves, feel free to use our "Read" link below. Just press CTRL-F and search for X-Com.

Will we see a PC sequel? Will we see a downloadable classic port for the next gen-consoles? We'll update you as soon as more info is made available.

Ken Levine, head honcho of Irrational, had some pretty harsh words to say about Electronic Arts concerning the publisher's relationship with Irrational's groundbreaking System Shock franchise. In an article from PC Gamer, Levine had this to say in reference to System Shock 3:

"One of the reasons I wasn't interested [in System Shock 3] is EA just didn't give a sh*t about that game. I think if EA were to do it, it would've been just a regular first-person shooter with a boss monster at the end. They [EA] didn't see it as big brand and I didn't want that uphill battle."

It seems that Levine is quite happy with new publisher 2K Games, though. Currently developing the highly anticipated BioShock, Levine said that 2K Games "cares about this game, and they believe in this kind of game".

While EA has been the butt of a lot of negative comments over the years, it must still sting a little extra when the one dishing out the venom is a developer of Levine's stature.

Some people have pointed towards bitterness as the source of Levine's words. Others believe that Levine's comments were justified, pointing out the many game franchises that EA has "ruined" by turning them into milk cows. While the real cause may only be known by Levine himself, we're always free to add our own takes on the subject.

What do you guys think?