Monaco XBLA

Update: The story originally noted that Monaco would release prior to PAX East, but Pocketwatch has since explained that it was referring to PAX Prime. The copy below has been edited to reflect this clarification.

The three-year wait for indie developer Pocketwatch Games’ 4-player co-op heist game, Monaco, appears to be nearing its end. Pocketwatch announced on Facebook last week that it had submitted its game to Microsoft for pre-certification.

Yesterday the studio got a report back from Microsoft and stated that there was “nothing too scary in there!” Stressing the obvious, the studio now says that Monaco is “inching closer to launch.”

Exactly how close has Pocketwatch inched towards launch? Monaco will release before this year’s PAX Prime convention. Pocketwatch responded to an inquisitive fan on Twitter by saying that the game would be out on XBLA (and Steam) before this year’s PAX Prime. Penny Arcade has not yet announced a date for its yearly convention, but the event has historically been held in late August/early September.

“We will definitely be out before PAX,” reads Pocketwatch’s tweet. “Our cert submission date is Feb 12, but we dont [sic] have any clue about launch date (apr?).” The April guesstimate would put the game out immediately following March’s PAX East convention, but there is plenty of breathing room between April and PAX Prime’s presumed August date for Pocketwatch to get its game out on XBLA and Steam (the game will release simultaneously on the two platforms).

Responding to XBLAFans’ follow-up tweets, Pocketwatch explained that it’s hopeful Monaco will pass certification by early or mid-March. With PAX Prime still being so far off, we suggested that perhaps the game will find its way onto XBLA’s Summer of Arcade promotion this summer. Though Microsoft is the one that ultimately decides when to slot in new XBLA releases, the studio is very much hoping its title will hit the Xbox Live Arcade Marketplace prior to this year’s Summer of Arcade.

After collecting the Excellence in Design award at the 2010 Independent Game Festival Monaco has made several pre-release appearances at PAX conventions. Monaco was confirmed to be heading to XBLA last October.

Sources: Pocketwatch Games and @MonacoIsMine