Electronic Arts today announced the return of its beloved Wing Commander franchise with Wing Commander Arena in development for the Xbox LIVE Arcade.

The classic game series will get a revamp however and offer up to 16 players head to head in the largest multi-player melee experience to date on Xbox LIVE Arcade.

For those lived in a cupboard for the last 20 years, the game, which is scheduled to go live worldwide on the Arcade service in Summer 2007 is a fast-paced space combat game where players can team up to attack other teams of ships.

Players will be able to propel their customized ship through space, fire torpedoes and unleash deadly gravity bombs as they try to climb the leader board.

Online players will compete for Frag count, high score and dueling stats.

“We’re really excited to deliver unparalleled multi-player arcade action”, said Chip Lange, EA Vice President. “The design for Wing Commander will appeal to both long-time fans of the franchise and immediately engage anyone who wants the melee style action of an arcade shooter.”

Wing Commander Arena will feature four styles of play: single player, multi-team, multi-player free for all and multi-player duel. Within the game there are eight game maps that include team maps, free for all maps and dueling maps.