Round-Up: Cyan Returns, Urban Flow, Step & Pump

Today's round-up includes news on the non-demise of Myst creator Cyan Worlds, as well as Ubisoft's announcement of a new breakdancing game, and Mastiff's Xbox Live-enabled step editor for rhythm action title Pump It Up, as well as today's product news and Gamasutra job postings. - Several media outlets have confirmed the news that Washington-based developer Cyan Worlds, which was recently reported to be down to just two employees, following the completion of the final game in its Myst series, Myst V: End Of Ages, has now found a new title to work on, and is working hard to recover its recently laid off staff. Talking to Dean Takahashi at the San Jose Mercury News, Cyan co-founder Rand Miller commented: "Managed to pull a rabbit out of the hat (that I can't give details about yet), so we rehired almost everybody. Crazy industry. It's giving me whiplash." - Ubisoft has announced that it will publish Flow: Urban Dance Uprising, billed as "the first and only breakdancing and hip hop video game", for PlayStation 2 this holiday season in North America. Developed by Montreal-based Artificial Mind and Movement, the game features classic breakdancing gameplay and a soundtrack of hip hop artists including the Sugar Hill Gang, Kurtis Blow, and Eric B & Rakim. Gamers can compete against as many as seven other players and choose from a host of dancers that perform classic breakdance moves in one of 10 different urban settings. - Publisher Mastiff has revealed the availability of the step editor for the Xbox version of its recently launched, Andamiro-developed dancemat title Pump It Up: Exceed. Free and available for download exclusively from Xbox Live, the step editor is exclusive to the Xbox version of Pump It Up: Exceed, and allows players to import their favorite music via Xbox Soundtracks and create their own choreography, and to create or modify steps for existing songs in the game. - Also updated today: product news, including THQ Wireless' use of the Tira Jump mobile middleware and Futuremark's adoption of Ageia's PhysX for benchmarking, plus today's Gamasutra job postings, featuring companies such as CMP Media, Datascope Recruitment, Demiurge Studios, Electronic Arts Tiburon, NaturalMotion, Petroglyph, and TimeGate Studios.