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343 has announced three map packs will be available including three maps each and are set to arrive between December 2012 and April 2013.

Sidhe is best known recently for developing Shatter, a fast-paced brick-buster game that debuted on PlayStation Network in 2009. Praised for its crystalline presentation and entrancing soundtrack, Shatter updated the familiar mechanics of games like Arkanoid, and elevated the understated -- but certainly not small -- developer that's been at work in Wellington, New Zealand, since 1997.

As a self-published downloadable game, Shatter appears to be an anomaly when placed next to another of Sidhe's recent projects: Blood Drive, published by Activision in 2010. The automotive action game, which saw players running down zombies for sport (it's as good a reason as any), failed to find an appreciative audience, despite having a mixture of popular go-to game elements. But how do the makers of one of 2009's most praised puzzle games deliver a 41 on Metacritic just one year later?

Today, Sidhe is in the process of shaking off the remnants of that game, one of the many work for hire, licensed tasks it has undertaken for most of its life. Speed Racer, Jackass: The Game and Madagascar Kartz all came from the same workhorse. "What we are trying to do, given where retail in general is going, is continue to move towards being independent," said Mario Wynands, co-founder and managing director of Sidhe. "That is, run the studio on the basis of royalties and download revenue alone, as opposed to being somewhat reliant on third-party publishers. We are, I guess, reacting to the market, in line with the strategy we've had in place for a number of years now, which is ultimately weaning ourselves off work for hire."

As a result, Sidhe has ramped down and elected not to renew or transition contracts with vendors following the completion of Blood Drive for Activision. Wynands also confirmed to Joystiq that several full-time staff members have been let go since then -- "probably five or six people." (This is after the studio hired more in March 2010, bringing the staff count close to 120.)

Subscriber's booty for the New Year includes Shatter.

We hope PlayStation Plus subscribers living in Europe don't care too much about having their surprises spoiled: Sony has revealed all the EU PlayStation Plus bonuses for the next two months, featuring sweet lil' jams like Shatter and Mushroom Wars.

It only makes sense that after offering PlayStation Plus subscribers a free download of Abe's Oddysee, Sony would let them complete the saga by handing out Abe's Exoddus. It's just one of the handful of freebies coming in the next PS+ update, which is detailed after the jump.

Sidhe's award winning brick-breaking game, official Shatter soundtrack, and dynamic theme coming soon.

Are you a hardcore fan of Shatter? So are we. That's why we're pretty excited that both the Shatter soundtrack and dynamic XMB theme are hitting the North American PlayStation Store this week. Featuring 14 tracks, the downloadable soundtrack will be available for $5.99 via the PSN. As a bonus, the soundtrack will come bundled with a dynamic theme and concept art. (The theme can be purchased separately for $2.99.)

Of course, some may be turned off by the asking price of the bundle, considering it costs nearly as much as the game itself. For others, this is a small price to pay to support an indie PSN dev. Check out a video of the theme after the break.

Download the award-winning music and a brand new theme from Sidhe's award winning brick-breaking game.

Shatter is easily one of my favorite PSN games from last year. So when we heard rumblings of multiplayer and other modes/features coming to the game, we went to go straight to the source for all the details.

So I’d like to welcome back Mario Wynands, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Sidhe, whom you originally met here. If you still haven’t downloaded Shatter on PSN/PS3, you’ll get a nice intro to the game in this video. But beyond that, Mario talks about some in-the-works stuff including Home integration, the inclusion of multiplayer modes and even the release of the game’s soundtrack. And if you make it to the end of the video, you’ll get a close-up of the physical CD version of the soundtrack, which you can snag by paying close attention to our Twitter feed today.

PC Gamers can now experience the fun of Sidhe's award-winning brick-breaking game and new game modes.

#psn Indie game Shatter, already available on the PSN, is one of the more prominent titles from this year's Independent Games Festival awards. It's also got an amazing soundtrack, and now, video clips to boot. More »

Ludwig offered some high praise in our Best of the Rest series for Shatter, the Arkanoid-inspired PSN arcade game. Not content on making the game exclusive to PS3 owners, developer Sidhe has announced a new platform for brick-busting: the PC. Arriving on Steam in "the coming weeks," the PC port will feature new game modes, including Endless, Endless Co-Op, Time Attack and Time Attack Co-op.

Fans of the original Shatter eager to get their hands on the new content won't have to buy the PC version, though. Sidhe director Mario Wynands told the NeoGAF community that "we will be bringing the new modes back to the PSN version"; however, it's unclear if the new modes will arrive as a free title update, or premium DLC. "[We] haven't worked out the exact nature or timing of that yet," Wynands told PSN Stores. Considering the low price of the original, we're certain fans won't mind spending a few more dollars to access the new content.

#theroadtotheigf Tired of stodgy corporate games made by The Man and his minions? We're playing the 31 best indie games for a change of pace —- and so we can judge them. Today, Shatter. More »

One of the big PSN surprises of the year was Shatter, a retro-futuristic take on the popular brick-breaking genre. Anyone who's played the game is bound to agree that what makes the game so special is the fantastic soundtrack. From now until Christmas, Sidhe is running a special sale on its site, reducing the price of the DRM-free OST to one dollar. One hundred pennies. Yes, for less than the price of PAIN DLC, you can get the entire 14 track album to play on the go. [Via @jeffrubenstein]

Sidhe's original game for PlayStation Network wins best downloadable title.