Back in March IllFonic announced that they would be bringing Nexuiz to consoles, complete with a graphics overhaul from it's free-to-play PC predecessor. Today, Crytek sends word that the game's makeover will come courtesy of their CryEngine3 software, the same tech powering the upcoming Crysis 2.

"We’re delighted to have Illfonic join our community of licensees”, said Carl Jones, Director of CryENGINE Global Business Development. “It’s exciting to see a passionate group like Kedhrin and Charles’ team working with CryENGINE 3 on such a cool title. Nexuiz is going to deliver a game style that will be a blast for the console audience, matched with the best graphics possible on the consoles. We’re delighted to offer our engine to teams for XBLA and PSN titles so that gamers can enjoy the quality that CryENGINE 3 can provide, as soon as possible. Our real-time multiplatform pipeline, Live Create, is highly suited to prototyping and delivering quality for games with shorter development cycles; and you get all the benefits of the AAA features of the engine. Nexuiz is going to be a lot of fun and we’re glad Illfonic have chosen CryENGINE 3 to deliver it in style.”

A release date didn't accompany the announcment, but hopefully the fact that they're boasting the game will be the "first XBLA & PSN title powered by CryEngine 3" means that it's not too far off.

We got sent a press release yesterday announcing the existence of Xenotic, a new project based off Nexuiz, a free, open source shooter based off the Quake source code:

We would like to formally announce the arrival of Xonotic – A free (GPL), fast-paced first-person shooter that works on Microsoft Windows, Mac OSX and Linux. Xonotic is a direct successor of the Nexuiz Project.

Xonotic came about in the wake of recent troublesome changes to the Nexuiz project, changes that have left many of the core contributors and community members feeling that the project has been mishandled. As a result, we felt the need to organize a departure to start with a clean slate.

Basically, certain elements of the Nexuiz team have decided to take the current Nexuiz codebase and commercialise it, with the goal of creating a console version. This has irked some of the other developers and the Nexuiz community, who feel that this is basically taking advantage of the hard work of many people who are not going to be involved in this new commercial version.

The Xonotic team have a FAQ with more information, detailing some of the drama. At the end of the day though, it looks like Nexuiz as it's known to the PC gaming scene will be migrating into Xonotic. Stay tuned! For now you can still download the free Nexuiz game right here from AusGamers.

Built on the open source Quake 3 engine, Nexuiz, was a free arena-style first-person shooter for PC, garnering a lot of players from its inception in 2005. Now, some five years later, developer/publisher IllFonic have announced they'll be bringing the game to consoles (Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network).

Originally developed by Alientrap Software as a free open source shooter in 2005 for the PC, /Nexuiz/ has been downloaded by over 4 million unique users. IllFonic’s remake of Nexuiz for console gamers features a new Victorian influenced art style that is simultaneously futuristic and sophisticated.

The game, which has been downloaded for PC by more than four million unique users, will have a full visual overhaul for consoles, introducing the game to an entirely new audience. We have some screens you can check out below.