Crackdown 3 is in development and is set for release on Xbox One in 2016, according to the prolific NeoGAF rumour-monger, “ntkrnl”.
That’s the same source that gave birth to the Xbox One and Halo 2 Anniversary reports that emerged this morning, some of which have subsequently been verified by other sources.
All of which lends this Crackdown 3 rumour a little more weight. According to ntkrnl, the project is codenamed “Nimbus” and is being developed by Scottish studio Cloudgine.
Who and what is Cloudgine? Well, the company’s website says that it is "building the next generation multi-player Cloud Gaming experience, where all game logic and the rendering for individual clients is carried out in the Cloud.”
These words echo Microsoft’s Xbox One messaging, a lot of which talks up the potential power of cloud processing. So that would seem to lend the rumour more legitimacy.
However, it’s the next revelation that’s most interesting. Cloudgine was co-founded by David Jones, the creator of Grand Theft Auto and... the original Crackdown.
Crackdown was developed by Jones' ill-fated studio Realtime Worlds, while fellow Dundee-based studio Ruffian took over for Crackdown 2. If the rumours are true, it looks like the series may be returning to its creator.
But, of course, the last time everyone got excited about a Crackdown 3 rumour it turned out to be false. And with the rumoured release for the game not coming until 2016, don’t expect official confirmation any time soon.