The Ship earns a big budget sequel for Xbox 360, PC

Scottish developer Outerlight has confirmed that they had been signed by a "major publisher" to develop The Ship 2 for the Xbox 360 and PC.

For people who are unfamiliar with the little known first game: The Ship is primarily an online multiplayer murder-mystery title with a unique set of game rules. (It also has a short two-to-four-hour single-player campaign.) It was originally released in 2004 as a Half-Life mod, and then upgraded to Valve's Source engine and re-released in 2006 as a commercial product.

The Ship is set on a 1920s cruise liner, where each player is given a series of mystery targets whom he or she must correctly identify and secretly eliminate. At the same time, the player must also stay alive from other would-be killers. The game combines elements from Cluedo, The Sims, and Quake, into a unique concept but is presented with low-budget, generally underwhelming graphics.