Feb 17, 2011 09:45 GMT  ·  By

Danny Bilson, who is the executive vice president of core games at publisher THQ, has announced that the developers at Relic are working on a new real-time strategy title and that an official announcement about it will be made at some point during August.

A Twitter message from the executive says, “@gogators21 The big announce for the next Relic RTS should come in August...that's the plan.”

The problem with such messages on social communication networks is that they generate expectations among those who closely follow one development team or another and they might ultimately force THQ to talk about the new project earlier than it initially planned.

Bilson did not offer any other information about the new real time strategy game

A further Twitter exchange mentioned the Homeworld space-based strategy series, with Bilson saying that THQ has the rights to it.

Fans have long asked Relic to deliver a new entry in the franchise, which was very well regarded because of its pace, the complex strategies it requires and the variety of units a player can employ to reach an objective.

At the moment Relic is involved in the beta stage for the Retribution expansion for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, which is set to be launched on March 4 and introduce the Imperial Guard as a playable faction for the first time.

All those interested in participating in the beta can log into Steam and download it as long as they have previously bought any Dawn of War strategy game.

Relic is also involved with the Company of Heroes strategy series, which focuses on World War II but managed to approach a much-used historical period with new mechanics and a faster-than-usual pace.

THQ and Relic tried to create a free-to-play version Company of Heroes, but that project has been canceled while still being in beta.