Activision Publishing announces Transformers: War for Cybertron, offering official details on the upcoming game based on Hasbro's Transformers, saying it is due for Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and DS next year. True to the clues in the trailer released last week, this game will be a prequel: "Transformers: War for Cybertron is an origins story, taking players on a gripping, adrenaline-fueled journey that precedes the TRANSFORMERS characters’ arrival on Earth," said Rob Kostich of Activision Publishing. "The game transports players to a living, metallic planet where they will battle as giant converting robots in single player, online co-op or head-to-head multiplayer matches that are fully immersive from start to finish." Word is this will be part of the canon for the series:

“For the first time, Hasbro is working with Activision to drive the TRANSFORMERS fiction forward into new story arcs, demonstrating pivotal moments in Transformers history that defined who they are,” said Aaron Archer, Senior Design Director, Hasbro. “This remarkable video game helps us to tell a critical event in TRANSFORMERS lore that will be used as canon for future storylines in a way we could have only dreamed of a few years ago. It is a testament to the success of the TRANSFORMERS brand and a key element to the story we look forward to telling in 2010 and beyond.”

Transformers: War for Cybertron features two distinct storylines: the AUTOBOT campaign tells a story of heroism to save their home planet against overwhelming odds, and the DECEPTICON campaign tells a story of an unquenchable thirst for power to control the universe. For the first time in a TRANSFORMERS title, fans will be able to play the game with their friends through team-based online co-op, or go head to head in a variety of intense, online multiplayer game modes. The game features a sci-fi art style that introduces to fans the entire living, metallic world of CYBERTRON, as well as all-new visualizations of the iconic TRANSFORMERS characters in their original Cybertronian forms.