20th Century Fox is continuing it's expansion into the games industry by acquiring Cold Iron Studios and tasking them with the development of a new Alien game.

FoxNext Games was established nearly a year ago as 20th Century Fox's big foray into the gaming industry, and it continues to make big strides. Today's stride includes acquiring Cold Iron Studios, which is comprised of industry veterans that made classics like Neverwinter, Metroid Prime 3, and BioShock Infinite. Known for their expertise in online multiplayer games, the studio will develop a shooter for PC and consoles set in the Alien universe.

“Cold Iron Studios has amazing design, craftsmanship and development talent that we are excited to welcome at FoxNext Games as we pursue our goal to build a multi-platform, multi-genre portfolio of great games,” Aaron Loeb, President of Studios, FoxNext Games, said. “I am a personal fan of Cold Iron’s previous work and all of us at FoxNext Games are thrilled to be working with them as they create an action-packed persistent world, steeped in the mysteries of this beloved Alien universe.”

“We believe in FoxNext’s vision and we are thrilled about the opportunity to explore an amazing and rich universe,” Chief Executive Officer Craig Zinkievich commented. “Our background in building online worlds and taking established franchises to the next level in interactive entertainment is a precise fit with our product roadmap ahead; we can’t wait to share more information soon.”

The last Alien game, Alien: Isolation, was developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega. Sega had held the exclusive rights to develop and publish Alien games for years, but it looks like things have changed. No word on when we may see this new Alien game.