Steve Jackson Games has announced plans to release a GURPS Fourth Edition two-volume Basic Set at this year's GenCon in August.  Sean Punch, the GURPS line editor for the past nine years, and David Pulver, who wrote many of the core GURPS supplements, have spent the past two years breaking down the game and rebuilding it with the guidance of fifteen years of gamer feedback.  The new rules are designed to enhance the key strength of GURPS compatibility with all genres and flexibility for the GM.  The GURPS Fourth Edition line will also be marked by an increase in quality -- all volumes will be over 200 pages in length, printed with full color interiors and published in durable hardcover editions.

The creators of the new Fourth Edition GURPS have done all they can to make the system 'backwardly compatible'--many of the worldbooks and sourcebooks, the detailed descriptions of settings, etc., will be usable with the new version of GURPS.  Steve Jackson Games plans to publish a 'conversion' guide to make it easier for gamers to use previous GURPS volumes.  SJG plans to keep many volumes, such as GURPS Greece in print, though the old Basic Set, the two Compendium volumes, and the Vehicles book will be rendered obsolete.

Steve Jackson Games plans a very aggressive publishing schedule for GURPS Fourth Edition in 2004 starting with the release of the Basic Set (two volumes with all the rules you need) at GenCon in August, followed by the release of the GM's Screen in September, a Fantasy supplement by William H. Stoddard in October, a Magic volume that updates nearly everything from the old Magic and Grimoire volumes in November, and an Infinite Worlds compendium in December, which will allow gamers to jump between timelines and explore weird alternate Earths.