Xbox Gaming in South Africa

THQ has revealed a "full reimagining" of the open-source shooter Nexuiz, bringing fast-paced arena-style multiplayer combat to the digital platforms early 2012, under development by relatively unknown Denver-based studio Illfonic.

Originally based on a modified version of the Quake engine, the new Nexuiz will have the power of the CryEngine 3 under the hood, allowing up to eight players to do battle in futuristic arenas where they will be able to "alter the laws of physics by triggering 100 different Dynamic Mutators that change the match on the fly."

"Digital distribution has opened up a wealth of new opportunities for our industry, and really given indie developers like Illfonic a chance to shine," said THQ Partners VP Tim Walsh. "In the case of Nexuiz, we believe that gamers have been looking for an arena shooter title for a while and we think Nexuiz is just that game—and at a terrific price point."

That "terrific price point" is yet to be revealed, but it's hard to imagine that it would be any more terrific than free, which is what the original Nexuiz cost gamers since its inception in 2005. Still, we'll give this new, improved version the benefit of the doubt, at least until we know more. Nexuiz will be heading to the Xbox LIVE Marketplace sometime early next year.