Gamecock Media announced in a press release on February 29th, that the upcoming game from Replay Studios that was under the working title Sabotage has been renamed to Velvet Assassin. The game is based upon the real life hero of WWII Violette Szabo, who was instrumental in reorganizing the French resistance against German occupation. Read the full press release after the jump.

Cockpit, Austin, TX – February 29, 2008 – Today developer Replay Studios, along with publisher Gamecock Media Group, have announced the official name change for ’Velvet Assassin’, their upcoming stealth-action title formerly known as ‘Sabotage’. The new title creates a perfect marriage between the story of real life hero Violette Szabo and the clandestine art of sabotage she championed. From the incredibly innovative art style, storyline, and combat gameplay, Velvet Assassin is poised to revolutionize the stealth-action genre later this year.

“Rather than a trite, overused, and generic working title like ‘Sabotage,’ ‘Velvet Assassin’ captures the heart of what we’re trying to accomplish,” said Sascha Jungnickel, Creative Director at Replay Studios. “From the start we’ve wanted a game with a strong female lead that stays true to the history of Violette Szabo while pulling players into a world of dark intrigue.”

Inspired by the true story of British Agent Violette Szabo, players will take on the role of Violette Summer. Behind enemy lines in Nazi occupied Europe, Violette risks her life fighting to fell the Third Reich with anything she can get her hands on, including enemy soldiers. With no support or official backing from the British Government, Violette puts everything on the line to defeat the German war machine – one mission at a time. Velvet Assassin combines lush, surreal visuals, a ground-breaking stealth combat system and one of the most unique perspectives ever brought to gaming. Velvet Assassin is planned to release in Fall 2008 on PC and next-generation consoles.

“Most of the time a name change happens because it’s not ‘catchy’ enough or because the marketing team didn’t like it,” said Tim Hesse, Executive Producer at Gamecock Media Group. “I have to say, the Replay crew have outdone themselves by making Violette into one of the best looking stealth-killers ever. This game has come so far since last year that Sabotage just didn’t do the game justice – ‘Velvet Assassin’ sums up every aspect that makes this game great.”

Replay Studios will be on hand with Velvet Assassin at Gamecock’s EIEIO 2008 in Austin, Texas on March 6th. MEGATONik’s own Woody will be attending the event and will be reporting on this game among many others.