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New Project Offset tech demo video is looking good . . . and big

It's been nearly a year since the Offset Software team at Intel have shown anything of their long-in-development fantasy-themed shooter code-named Project Offset. Now a new tech demo video from the game showing some impressive looking in-game graphics has found its way to YouTube,

The video, which you can check out after the break, shows less than a minute of gameplay footage but's its pretty spectacular with a massive Grimm Fairy Tales-like giant in high polygon detail and super animation. Is this what we can expect when (or maybe if) the final game is released? If so color us even more interested than ever about this game. Hopefully Intel will give us a proper update on the game like they promised us a little while ago.

[Via Blue's News]

Red 5 Studios confirms "restructuring" [Update]

One day after rumors hit the interwebs about mass layoffs at Red 5 Studios, the MMO game developer has now issued an official press release confirming that the company has undergone a "restructuring". The press release states, " . . . some team members chose to part ways while others were let go" but specific numbers were not revealed in the press release.

Red 5 Studios, formed several years ago by former World of Warcraft team leaders from Blizzard, has been working in near secrecy on their debut MMO project. The company did license the Offset Engine from Offset Software several years ago (ironically Offset Software has also been working in near secrecy on their own game) but it's currently not known if the engine is still being used. Unconfirmed rumors on certain web sites said the developer's first project, a FPS MMO, is now on hold while the remaining team members are now working on a game for the Chinese market. However, Red 5's own press release today said the company " remains committed to releasing a AAA quality, online title targeted for a worldwide release."

Check out an update we received from the company's PR rep after the jump


Intel: Project Offset info update coming in 2010


Late last week Intel announced that it was canceling plans to release a commercial graphic card and chip based on their Larrabee technology. One of the reasons this news was game related was the speculation surrounding Project Offset, a fantasy FPS under stealth development for some time at Offset Software. Intel bought the dev team back in February 2008 and many speculated that the game would be used by Intel as a way to show off what a Larrabee graphics chip could do for game development and performance.

So with this new Larrabee development, where does Project Offset now stand? Big Download contacted Intel and one of their reps responded back with a brief statement, saying only, "Expect an update in 2010 regarding Offset. " Hopefully that means the project isn't canceled.

Mysterious Project Offset coming out of the shadows?


It's been a long time since there's been any word on what's been going on with Project Offset. The fantasy themed action game from Offset Software was acquired, development team and all, by PC processor maker Intel just over a year ago. Now the game's official web site has gotten a revamp with a little more info and content for the game.

The content comes in the form of two Flash-based videos. One shows off the game's editing features but the other is a fairly impressive graphics film as a Asian-style temple is destroyed by some kind of mystical meteor storm. The web site also has a message from Offset Software founder Sam McGrath who states that we will see the fruits of their labors "in the coming months." While McGrath still doesn't mention why Intel has bought a game developer some have speculated that Intel will use Project Offset (still just a code name) to show off the graphical power of their upcoming Larabee chip.

Red 5 Studios continues to stay silent on game projects

We've been waiting for a long, long time to find out what in the wide, wide world of sports developer Red 5 Studios is making. The MMO developer, founded back in 2005 by former members of Blizzard's World of Warcraft team, has only said their first project would be published by Webzen and use the Offset game graphics engine developed by Offset Software (now owned by Intel).

Gamasutra has a new interview with Red 5 execs Michael Weingartner and Mark Kern and, well, it looks like the studio is still not willing to share what they are doing. Kern states that they are at least thinking about when and how they plan to announce their first game, saying. "We're kind of in the meeting stages, planning that out, and we're pretty excited because it's going to be the first time that we get to show everyone what we've been working towards." Still it seems that we are still a ways away from that reveal with Kern saying only, "In the coming months."
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