Back in 2004, the real-time strategy game Evil Genius was launched and gave players the unique opportunity to inhabit the role of a villain tasked with taking over the world. A sequel based on the game was put on hold after developer Elixir Studios closed its doors and sold the rights to Sniper Elite developer Rebellion. It seems fans of acts of infamy can rejoice once more, because Evil Genius 2 has finally been announced, with an eventual release planned for the PC. Rebellion made sure to emphasize that the new game will not be a freemium game or a retread of the original, but a true follow-up to the world domination simulator.

We’re thrilled to announce we are now officially working on Evil Genius 2.” wrote Rebellion on Steam. “We’d like to make this super-duper clear – this isn’t a remaster. Evil Genius 2 will be a fully-fledged sequel and it won’t be free-to-play. Our focus currently is on a PC release, but as ever we’ll look at other platforms and see what fits and what doesn’t.”

Evil Genius 2 has been teased by Rebellion as far back as 2013, the company revealing that securing funding for the project was difficult at the time. They instead chose to make the game happen through other means, saying, “We are going to make this happen. And it’s going to be soon.”

While ‘soon’ didn’t come as fast as some would like, the developer was admittedly pretty busy with other big franchises, which include the Sniper Elite series and the Zombie Army Trilogy. In fact, the past few years has been so successful, it’s encouraged Rebellion to drop the initial plan to crowdfund Evil Genius 2, saying, “it wasn’t fair to ask fans to fund a new game if [they] didn’t need them to”.

While Evil Genius 2 has been described as “still at a very, very early stage”, the idea of a new game in the series is undoubtedly very exciting for fans. Non-fans have every reason to be hopeful too, as it could mean more long-dormant games could get a second chance in the future. What do you think? Does Evil Genius deserve to make a comeback, or should that Judge Dredd TV show be Rebellion’s top priority? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow DFTG on Twitter for the latest gaming and entertainment news 24 hours a day!