Rumor: A Brand New Day for MechAssault?

Last December, we received some disheartening news that 100 Day 1 Studios employees were laid off following the collapse of a deal with Konami. 95% of the team working on the project was dismissed, leading many to wonder what this meant for the development house’s future.

Yesterday, Kotaku uncovered a 30 second teaser on the studio’s website that features a 30-second clip with few words and a hype-inducing image. The text reads, “In 2012… Day 1 Studios Returns to Its Roots.” The image? A giant, metal foot telling the ground who’s boss (hint: it’s the thing connected to the giant, metal foot).

Two thoughts, both of which fill me with hope. 1) A new MechAssault game is in the works (please, please, please) or 2) An HD re-make/re-release of the first two MechAssault games, originally released on the Xbox (not as good, but still awesome). For those of you who are too young to remember, and it frightens me that those words aren’t necessarily a joke, MechAssault was one of the games that launched the Xbox Live service way back in November 2002.

It was a more action-heavy take on the MechWarrior property, with a compelling single-player campaign and solid multiplayer. One of my rose-colored memories of the game is of players of all ages speaking politely, marveling at the new technology. A few days later, someone figured out how to teabag with an Atlas mech, and it was all over.

We’ll be all over further developments as we camp out on the front lawn of Day 1 Studios.

[Source: Gamasutra, Kotaku]