Randy Pitchford, president and CEO of Gearbox Software, announced earlier this week that his studio is beginning a big new project. 

He posted a little something about this on the Gearbox forums, but remained vague on the details despite his overwhelming excitement:

"I've started a new project.  It’s big... I’m Directing it myself. I can't mention it publicly yet. When you find out what this is, you'll likely agree that I can't oversell this one."

Thanks a lot, Pitchford.  However, he did specify that this amazing new project won't be in finished this year or the next.  Until Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway and Borderlands have shipped, a small pre-production team will be assigned to the assignment in question.

Team Xbox is already speculating what this sweet new deal Gearbox landed might entail.  Of course there is the assumption that Gearbox is picking up some big franchise where a previous developer left off, and Team Xbox has run down a brief list to wind up at - what else - Halo.  This shouldn't come as a big surprise, since the software company has worked on Halo in the past, coming out with a multiplayer only PC version of the game. 

It would seem many have put their money on Microsoft and Bungie's highly successful FPS franchise for now, though I won't be holding my breath.  Still, you rampant fanboys are welcome to the feeding frenzy.  Pitchford would like us all to wet ourselves with anticipation because apparently, this is look-at-our-line-up-and-imagine-something-even-bigger kind of big. 

Holy hell, there isn't even an actual word in the dictionary to describe this thing!  You know it's gonna be huge when he breaks out the hyphens.