Originally, Irrational Games was planning to self-publish Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich, the sequel to its well received 2002 superhero role-playing game Freedom Force. Today, Irrational tweaked the game's release plans a tad by revealing that it would tap VU Games to distribute the game in North America.

　　In a statement, Irrational's general manager Ken Levine said, "When we decided to self-publish Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich, we knew the game we wanted to make and how we wanted to make it. What we didn't know was how to get it in to the hot, little hands of all the Freedom Force fanatics…This partnership is the final piece of that puzzle." Phil W. O'Neil, North American president of VU Games, took a more self-congratulatory bent by saying, "Irrational's decision to partner with VU Games is another endorsement for our North American publishing and distribution capabilities."

　　Unfortunately, it looks like VU Games won't get a chance to flex its distribution muscle with Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich until next year. Instead of its tentative 2004 release, the game is now slated to ship in "early 2005." For more on the game, check out GameSpot's latest preview.