Après Unreal Tournament 3 et contrairement à ce qui était annoncé en mai dernier, c'est au tour du deuxième FPS multijoueur le plus attendu de l'année de se voir porté sur consoles, j'ai nommé, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars.
Activision et id Software viennent en effet d'annoncer via un communiqué de presse qu'ET : Quake Wars serait porté sur Xbox 360 et PlayStation 3. Supervisé par Id Sofware, c'est en fait Nerve Software (Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War pour Xbox et DOOM 3: Resurrection of Evil) qui se charge du développement d'Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars sur Xbox 360, et Z-Axis (Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX) de la version PlayStation 3. La version PC est, quand à elle, toujours développée par Splash Damage Ltd..

Plus étrange encore que le port sur consoles, il semblerait que ces dernières n'aient droit qu'un un mode multijoueur réduit à 16, tandis que la version PC devrait en accueillir 64. On est donc en droit de se demander à quel point ces version diffèreront de leur homologue sur PC. Quoi qu'il en soit, on peut dores et déjà affirmer que les joueurs PC et consoles ne pourront pas se rencontrer sur des parties Online.

Le communiqué complet (anglais) se trouve dans la suite de la nouvelle.

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The war between the GDF and Strogg will soon be igniting on next-generation consoles as id Software and Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATVI) today confirmed that Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars™, the team-based first person action title, and already one of the most anticipated new properties of 2007 is coming to next-gen platforms. In this epic multiplayer-focused game, players can choose to defend humanity as a part of the Global Defense Force (GDF) or destroy it as a merciless Strogg alien invader. Under the executive production of id Software, Nerve Software is developing Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, while Z-Axis is the developer for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system.

“We're pleased to be working with Nerve and Z-Axis to bring the highly-anticipated gameplay from Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars to the Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 system,” said Todd Hollenshead, CEO, id Software.

Winner of more than 15 awards in 2006 and already selected as one of the most anticipated new titles in 2007 by more than eight publications, Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars is being developed for the Windows PC by Splash Damage – the Nerve Software and Z-Axis console versions will also feature strategic team play, persistent character promotions and online stats tracking. Players choose to battle as one of five unique classes in either the conventionally armed GDF army or the futuristic Strogg invasion force, each outfitted with specialist weapons and combat hardware. In this adrenaline pumping fight for survival, warring forces utilize a variety of different vehicles, deployable structures, and defense systems including quad-bikes, tanks, and alien walkers for epic ground assaults; or helicopters and anti-gravity ships to unleash airborne attacks. Throughout each battle, teams establish bases, deploy defense structures, artillery, radar, and advanced forward-command systems into enemy territory while constructing and demolishing obstacles to speed progress and gain a tactical advantage over the opponent. Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars features 16-player battles on the console systems, delivering the ultimate team-and objective-based multiplayer experience.

Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars has not yet been rated by the ESRB.