The Rumour Mine: Final Fantasy Tactics price, Archetype Capture the Flag, and Unreal Tournament iPhone

With so many games announced in June, there's not much being discussed among iPhone developers. Bets have already been placed for the rest of the year, meaning that all the games to come out between now and December have already been decided.

That doesn't mean developers aren't preparing new games or that there aren't any surprise announcements scheduled over the course of the next few months. Epic Games is hard at work on a game, for instance, that could likely see a release before 2010 is out.

Most of the biggies are already known or intensely debated as rumours, though. Are there any games you'd like to see announced?

Online shooter Archetype to get Capture the Flag mode

Five-on-five team deathmatch is good fun, but capture-the-flag ought to make online shooter Archetype a real blast. A source has confirmed with me that the hot shooter of the moment is getting ready for a major update that includes a new capture-the-flag mode.

Archetype was criticised for its lack of modes, particularly in relation to rival Eliminate, which offers cooperative play. That will change with a free update that adds capture-the-flag for play with the game's existing maps.

While more maps are expected at some point in the future, the capture-the-flag addition will initially only support the current maps.

Publisher Villain has hinted at new content, but this is the first word of specific content coming by way of a free update. No release date was mentioned by my source, though I'd imagine it'll be available some time in the next two months.

Final Fantasy Tactics to carry hefty price tag

If you thought the £7.49/$12.99 tag on original role-playing game Chaos Rings was high, then you'd better sit down before hearing the likely cost of iPhone and iPod touch port Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions. Square Enix is considering an even higher price: £8.99/$14.99.

Square Enix has not publicly discussed pricing, but there's clear indication that the company wants to promote higher prices for its premium games. After the success enjoyed with Chaos Rings as the most expensive game on the App Store, the publisher thinks it can push an even higher price for Final Fantasy Tactics when it comes out on September 15th.

Before you freak out, remember that the game was originally released for $39.99. Several years have passed since the initial PlayStation release and so a lower price is in order, but when you consider the dozens upon dozens of hours of fantastic tactical action the game offers, £8.99/$14.99 really isn't unfair.

Did I mention the PSP version of this game received a Platinum Award?

Epic Games planning Unreal Tournament instalment for iPhone

There's a war that's broken out in the shooter genre with various developers gunning for the mantle of top iPhone dog. Eliminate held that title for a while, now Archetype holds it, but it soon might be a new iPhone-specific iteration of Unreal Tournament that seizes the prize.

Epic Games has expressed interest in developing an iPhone and iPod touch game. In fact, the company has successfully ported its popular Unreal Engine 3 to the devices, paving the way for potential game development.

Of course, Epic designing a game of its own to showcase the engine is the best way of drumming up interest among the development community to license the technology.

Enter Unreal Tournament. Not a port of an older instalment of the PC multiplayer series, this is an all-new game optimised for touchscreen play. Reservations about the controls are understandable, but Epic is sure to nail the level design, pack the screen with extreme detail, and load up on features.

3G network play is the only feature that's off the table - it's been a sticky subject for Archetype and Eliminate only supports four players.

That's just as well because I'd rather see Epic make a top-notch game that works flawlessly via wi-fi on iPhone 4 than a mediocre game stretched thin over 3G and older handsets.