Back in August, SEGA Europe and SEGA of America confirmed that they'd signed a deal with Planet Moon Studios to produce a new PSP title based on a classic SEGA franchise.

At the time, the identity of the franchise was hidden behind closed doors, but today the publisher has announced that the mystery title will be After Burner: Black Falcon. Set for release on Sony's handheld during Spring 2007, After Burner: Black Falcon will see players take to the cockpit of nineteen jet fighters in a series of solo and multiplayer missions (co-operative and versus), and dogfight with various bogies at 25,000 feet.

"After Burner: Black Falcon(tm) is a good example of updating one of the all time SEGA classics for the current generation of gamers", commented Matt Woodley, Creative Director, SEGA Europe, Ltd. "Its fast paced, challenging gameplay, combined with amazing visuals and superb multiplayer options make it a great addition to the PSP(r)".

"As huge fans of the original After Burner, we are delighted to re-imagine this classic arcade franchise," said Bob Stevenson, CEO, Planet Moon Studios. "Building After Burner: Black Falcon from the ground-up enables us to craft the game with PSP(r) features in mind with all-new multiplayer modes, customisable jets and over-the-top gameplay. Most importantly, it's approximately 9000% more portable than the original arcade cabinet."

TVG hazarded an educated guess that Afterburner would be making a return earlier in the year when we discovered that the publisher had trademarked the name "After Burner" (with that all important space). We also suspected the return of the series when SEGA confirmed a partnership with X-Wing developers Totally Games.

We'll have more on After Burner: Black Falcon shortly...