With Duke Nukem Forever now making its inexorable way to a retail shelf near you, Gearbox has returned its attention to Aliens: Colonial Marines, says studio boss and sometime magician Randy Pitchford.

Publisher SEGA has today announced that Aliens: Colonial Marines is anticipating an autumn 2012 (NZT) release. In the game, players will control a squad of marines as they try to survive against the deadly aliens infesting the derelict U.S.S. Sulaco.

“To Gearbox Software and its peers throughout the industry, Aliens is one of the most influential science fiction properties of all time,” said Pitchford.

“Aliens: Colonial Marines, designed as an interactive successor to the landmark films from Twentieth Century Fox, is a dream project about which our studio is deeply committed and passionate.”

Aliens: Colonial Marines will be shown next week at E3. Gameplanet will be reporting live from Los Angeles throughout E3, which runs from 7th-9th June (8th-10th June NZT).

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Aliens: Colonial Marines E3 2011 trailer
Aliens: Colonial Marines begins with an ostensibly abandoned ship, the U.S.S. Sulaco, recovered in orbit around LV-426. Players lead a group of highly trained United States Colonial Marines as they board the deserted craft to uncover the fate of the crew. They will have to fight to survive unspeakable horrors and their own anxieties as they chase down the truth behind a galaxy-spanning deception that places humanity at the mercy of the most murderous and deadly species in the universe.