The classic combat sports game Speedball II: Brutal Deluxe, will be available on the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade from 17th October.

Regarded as a break-though title that took the sports genre to a new level, the Bitmap Brothers classic, Speedball, was first released for the Amiga in 1990 and quickly became a huge success. However it wasn’t until the release of its sequel, Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe that the title reached new gaming heights and sold over two million units. Empire Interactive says the Xbox Live Arcade version is a "perfect conversion" of Speedball II: Brutal Deluxe with the addition of an all-new high definition version, more teams and downloadable content, whilst still retaining all the classic elements that have made it a firm favourite amongst gamers.

Empire Interactive has recently enjoyed success with the release of arcade classic Double Dragon, where it has become one of the most popular full games downloads on Xbox Live Arcade. Empire hopes the release of Speedball 2 will further cement its position as a leading provider of casual games in the online marketplace.

Ian Higgins, CEO Empire Interactive said, “Xbox Live Arcade is the ideal environment for this exciting new high definition version of Speedball. With the addition of extra content packs and downloadable content, gamers will at last have the ultimate version of the game.”

Mike Montgomery, of developers Bitmap Brothers said, “The team are all as passionate about Speedball today as they were back in the day. The evolution of the game to Xbox Live Arcade will provide renewed interest and excitement for Speedball fans old and new”.