Catalyst Game Labs has two prominent new properties planned for release in the first part of 2009, adding to its rapidly expanding product lines (see “Catalyst Game Labs to Publish ‘CthulhuTech’” and “Catalyst Enters Casual Game Biz”).

Eclipse Phase is an RPG set in Earth’s far distant future, when humanity has achieved immortality by abandoning the need for physical bodies and transforming brain patterns into digital information.  As a result, characters can change their bodies at will and always have a “backup copy” ready to deploy in case of “death.”  The game uses a percentile system and has no set classes, allowing customization based on skills, including psionic abilities.  The 320-page, full-color core rulebook will be out first quarter 2009 and retail for $40 to $50.

Leviathans is a miniatures game about lighter-than-air battleships also due out in 2009. Subtitled “The Battle of Air Titans,” the game is set in an alternative version of the early 20th century.  “We are currently in the early stages of development and are taking care to create a visual aesthetic that harkens back to the naval ship design of the late 1800s and early 1900s,” Catalyst Operations Manager David Stansel-Garner told us.  “Players will take command of a faction's flotilla and engage their opponent for the glory of their homeland.”