Warner Bros. Digital Distribution announced today that the Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment game, F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin will be available for digital download via partners in North America in conjunction with the day and date retail release. The game will be available through IGN Entertainment's digital retail store, Direct2Drive, and via Steam, a leading platform for the delivery and management of PC games with over 15 million accounts worldwide.
"More and more gamers are taking advantage of digital distribution to access videogames," said Thomas Gewecke, President, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution. "Digital distribution is going to be an important facet of the gaming world and we are glad to be a part of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment's efforts to offer additional, convenient, and flexible options for players."
So now you can get F.E.A.R. 2 without even leaving your house. Users who have pre-ordered the game will be able to download it the same day the retail version hits store shelves on February 10, 2009.

Monolith has been working on a sequel to F.E.A.R. called Project Origin. This time around, Monolith is working for a different publishing house, that's Warner Bros. Interactive, and so couldn't use the F.E.A.R. trademark that Sierra (in effect Activision-Blizzard) owned. In a recent statement at the community website, the developers announced that they have purchased the name F.E.A.R. from Activision-Blizzard as they continue developing the title in its new complete name: F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin.

The game is being developed for Windows PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 platforms. It will be published under the Warner Bros. Interactive banner and is slated for February 3 in Europe and Feb. 10 in North America. Being a sequel, the game is said to "continue the legacy of the original F.E.A.R. game with story and combat while adding new twists, gameplay and graphics to expand the players' experience." It takes off where the original title's story leaves: "A Special Forces squad is on a routine mission when the city of Auburn is rocked by a supernatural explosion. Alma, a girl with immense power and a thirst for revenge, has unleashed her wrath upon the city and thrown it into chaos. The squad must combat enemy forces and the supernatural as they struggle to find a way to stop Alma and uncover the mysterious forces arrayed against them before it's too late." A new trailer has been published on the community website.

It's no big secret in the gaming world that Vivendi studios and Monolith Productions, the two companies behind F.E.A.R., aren't working together anymore. And so, this means that there was a large battle over the F.E.A.R. franchise. Vivendi got the rights to F.E.A.R., but Monolith got all the characters. While the rest of us scratch our heads in confusion, Warner Brothers Interactive announced that Vivendi was developing a F.E.A.R. sequel. Vivendi is proudly naming it 'Project Origin', a title that gamers chose. There is no word as of yet what Vivendi plans to do with none of the rights to the original characters. We'll keep you posted.