Details were released today during an interview with Craig Duncan, head of the ailing Midway Newcastle studio, about a new IP under development even while the studio looks for a buyer. The game, Necessary Force, is said to be “a gritty story of a cop striving for justice,” and, if the theme of the video above is any indication, seems to be a cross between GTA and Max Payne.

“That unprecedented level of open world influence and troubled morality is something we’re really keen to explore,” says Duncan. He goes on to say that while the basic story of a cop who sets his own rules has been done before in movies, the developers believe that no one has been able to accurately bring those choices and consequences to the gaming medium… yet.

Necessary Force will be running on the Unreal Engine 3, but Midway Newcastle has had to customize the base toolkit to adapt it for open world action. “UE3 is built for characters walking through levels, not people speeding at more than 100 miles per hour through a seamless world,” clarifies Duncan. Amazingly, after only three months of work with the modified engine, the game is currently playable with a section of the city almost fully completed. However, the video above shows no actual gameplay as the visual style is still being worked on and is not 100 percent finalized.

No release date has been discussed, as Midway Newcastle is trying to keep the doors open, but we think if anything can convince someone to pick up the studio, Necessary Force can.