Shattered Union: new details

New military strategy effort Shattered Union will be a PC and Xbox exclusive, according to publisher 2K Games.

Speaking to Eurogamer, a representative said the game is set "in a near-future America that's being ripped apart by a civil conflict." And it's your job to unite the states once again by any means necessary.

"There are seven different factions, made up of alliances between the different states," the representative told us. "So you'll see the New Republic of Texas battling Greater California, for example.

"One of the most interesting things about the game is that there's no external power, so no reds-under-the-bed - it's a futuristic civil war," he added.

Screenshots showing Alaska, Chicago and LA being done over by various fighter planes, tanks and helicopters can be found here, and 2K Games told us other locations will include New York City, Ohio and the Rockies.

We're also informed that there will be online modes in both the PC and Xbox versions, and up to four players can battle it out at once.

The game is being developed by PopTop Software, whose previous credits include Railroad Tycoon and Tropico. "With Shattered Union, they're taking on a darker theme, but will bring the same level of quality to war gaming as they did to running railroad empires and tropical islands," said 2K bigwig Christoph Hartmann.

Shattered Union is slated for an autumn release - we'll bring you more details round about E3 time.