This The Adrenaline Vault news story describes plans to split the upcoming tactical shooter Private Wars into two independent products, the original Private Wars (which according to the AVault's June 1998 Private Wars preview was expected December 1998), and one called Private Wars: Countdown, which will come much sooner, cheaper, and should offer more mass-appeal:

Countdown is being described as a slimmed down version of the full Private Wars concept that will attract more casual--i.e. non-hardcore tactical simulation--users and highlight the Private War brand with a twisting plot full of intricate human drama. The game will contain between 8 and ten missions, lots of cut scenes and be priced to move. Closed beta of the product begins Jan. 20.

The whole story also discusses the addition of new features to Private Wars including a radiosity solution to the indoor renderer, and says to expect screenshots soon.