Techland sends word that it has begun development on the sequel to Xpand Rally Xtreme, their racing title. Additions to the series will include “super-fast” GT vehicles, DTR group buggies, off-road 4×4 cars and Monster Trucks group trucks. It will include 40 tracks, off-road cross-country rides, and more. The game will also offer players the chance to create their own tracks and even game modes.

EuroGamer carries word from Criterio’s Alex Ward that a Xbox 360 version of Black, the studio’s latest project, will NOT be made. “I keep reading all over forums that we’re going to make a 360 version of BLACK, and it’s just not true,” he said bluntly.

He also responded to “conspiracy theories” surrounding the lack of backwards compatibility support for Criterion’s titles, saying that it doesn’t depend on the developer or publisher - it depends on Microsoft. He has already asked them “four times” to get the Burnout titles working on the Xbox 360, but ultimately Microsoft is the one to decide which Xbox games the 360 will support.

Ward seemingly gave away confirmation that the studio is planning a next-gen sequel of Black: “The only time you’ll see [the BLACK franchise] on the Xbox 360 is when we make BLACK 2 on it in a few years.”

Gotta get Black!

I just love having weird, creepy girls appearing out of nowhere! You’ll love them too, as Monolith has announced that it plans to release F.E.A.R. sequels. The studio has mentioned that it will be continuing the story of the original on PCs and multiple next-gen consoles, but that it won’t carry the F.E.A.R. name tag, as Vivendi owns the rights to the name. The sequels will carry a new, unannounced title. No release date or publisher’s name was stated.

Apparently, the sequel(s) will see different PC and console iterations, ala Ubi’s Far Cry. President of Monolith, Samantha Ryan, says: “We believe that the PC audience is entirely viable and can support a game just as it did support F.E.A.R. To deliver the best quality title, the PC needs to be a focus. We believe that next-gen will also be awesome, but again, it has some differences and this is the approach that we’re going to try.”

As the article points out, the story will remain consistent between the games and will pick up where the original left off.

Monolith is currently looking to hire staff to work on the new titles.