Ubisoft Shanghai's post-apocalyptic, first-person shooter I Am Alive will be released later this year as a digital download on Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network, according to media reports.
The official I Am Alive website is currently down for maintenance with the message "Services will be restored at approximately 5pm GMT/12am EST", fueling speculation that an official announcement is on the way.
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said at the start of 2010 that the studio would be "totally re-engineering the product", which may have been an early sign that development was switching to the digital download market.
The game was originally under development by Paris-based Cold Fear creator Darkworks, but was later moved over to Ubisoft's internal Shanghai studio.
This seems like a hail mary to recoup a few of the bucks they must have spent in the years of development and promotion. Two studios, nearly five years of total dev time, and all sorts of smoke and mirrors and then - it's DLC on XBL. Well, better than throwing it all away. Here's hoping it's worth $5.
If they do that, I hope we don't have to hear later how the game didn't sell that much due to piracy.