Rebellion's Game Engine Ready For NGP

British independent game developer Rebellion (Rogue Trooper, Aliens vs. Predator) says its internal technology, Asura, now includes support for Sony's upcoming Next Generation Portable platform. The studio says its Sniper Elite, Rogue Trooper, Sega-published Aliens vs. Predator, and Electronic Arts' The Simpsons Game were all built with Asura, and Rebellion says it now has a "fully playable demo of a multiplayer third person shooter" running on NGP, despite the fact that the device isn't expected to launch until the end of the calendar year. Asura already supports development on PC and all current consoles. It's also been used on the original PSP, as with the Star Wars Battlefront series. Rebellion says it's been working "over the last few months" to make Asura for current NGP developers who may want to get a head start on the platform. According to Rebellion, the fact that Asura doesn't require separate middleware or third-party software helped make it easier to get it up to speed quickly on a new platform. "The technology, design and art teams have worked incredibly well with Sony's newest device," says Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley. "We have managed to make our engine fully functional, and looking great on the hardware in double quick time," he says. "We'll be attending DICE and GDC to show what we have created and look for business partners."