Valve announces Chilean developer ACE Team has licensed the Source engine for Zeno Clash, an upcoming fantasy-themed action/fighting game due for release next year. The theoretically musical Flash Zeno Clash Website is online, offering preliminary information and some screenshots, and here's the announcement that has further details:

Santiago, Chile - August 28, 2007 - ACE Team, an independent game development studio based in Santiago, Chile, today announces it has licensed the Source® engine-the core technology behind Half-Life® 2-for an action-fantasy game in development for the PC.

Zeno Clash is an action game with a strong focus on melee combat set in a punk fantasy world. Featuring up close and brutal combat in a first-person perspective, the game is played in battle scenarios where the adversaries are always dangerously close and the use of exotic firearms and artifacts is a commodity. The new close combat mechanics are a deviation from traditional shooting in the FPS genre that will feel fresh for players.

The first chapter is set in a fantastic & chaotic world where the main character has been exiled from his clan and hunted down by his own brothers. A desperate journey past the forbidden desert will bring him to the end of the world.

"Working with Source gives us the features, tools, and flexibility we need in an engine to bring to life a game world beyond anything seen before," said Andres Bordeu, game designer with ACE Team. "Source is an incredibly flexible engine that lets us create environments with rich visuals, expansive and highly-detailed believable characters that interact with players in intelligent-and challenging-ways. We look forward to delivering a fantastic experience to gamers in 2008."

"We're pleased that the ACE Team has chosen the Source engine for their promising debut game, which will expand the use of Source into new gameplay and visual styles," said Jason Holtman, director of business development at Valve. "As we continue to evolve the Source toolset, we will continue the tradition of supplying underlying technology for such innovative projects."

ACE Team is a new studio located in Santiago, Chile comprised of professional game designers, artists, and programmers who have worked on a number of games for both PC and Xbox Live Arcade platforms. For more information about ACE Team and its Source-based game, please visit http://www.aceteam.cl/zenoclash/.