Former founders of Polish Epic Games subsidiary People Can Fly (Painkiller, Bulletstorm) have announced the creation of a new independent studio The Astronauts. The new studio will be licensing Epic's Unreal Engine 3 for their debut project:

Epic Games, Inc. and The Astronauts, the new independent games studio founded by Adrian Chmielarz, Andrzej Poznanski and Michal Kosieradzki, announce a long-term Unreal Engine licensing agreement. Under the deal terms, The Astronauts have the rights to develop multiple games using the latest Unreal Engine technology. The team is creating its debut title, an unannounced game due for release in 2013, with Epic’s award-winning Unreal Engine 3 (UE3).

“We’ve worked with UE3 for the last six years, and we know its power,” said Adrian Chmielarz, co-founder of The Astronauts. “Choosing Unreal Engine technology for our future was the textbook definition of a no-brainer. We are on a quest to map uncharted waters, and Epic’s tech provides the stability required for success.”

“We’re truly impressed with what high-quality games small, independent teams are creating using the Unreal Engine,” said Mike Gamble, European territory manager of Epic. “The best is yet to come, and there’s a good chance that The Astronauts will be one of those teams that makes us say ‘Wow.’”

The studio's official website bears no information about their first game yet, only an amusing overview of their engine selection process:

We thought about making our own engine for our projects. That lasted about ten seconds, nine of which were filled with laughter

Their former studio, People Can Fly, is currently working on Gears of War: Judgement.