This morning, Unreal codeveloper Digital Extremes announced a massively multiplayer follow-up to Unreal Tournament called Dark Sector. The game will take place in space, where players will find themselves scattered across orbiting stations, planets, and moons.

　　"The popularity of Unreal Tournament's progressive gameplay convinced us the next big thing would be extending this style of game into a massively multiplayer persistent environment," said Digital Extremes founder James Schmalz. "We are combining the fast-paced action and team-play elements of Unreal: Tournament with the compelling character development and vast universe to explore in a persistent environment."

　　Like Ultima Online and other persistent multiplayer games, Dark Sector will let players develop their characters and build a reputation of sorts. As part of the game's plot, all players will take on the role of bounty hunters and fight against other human and AI opponents across the Dark Sector's numerous levels. Other features include the ability to fly and dogfight from one level to the next, support for player-killers, a persistent economy, and the ability to gamble on various grudge matches.

　　Digital Extremes hasn't given Dark Sector a release date yet. We'll keep you informed of new developments, however.