Gravity Bear, the new social games studio founded by vets from Flagship (Hellgate: London, Mythos), announced its first title, Battle Punks, an original 3D fighting game featuring a fantasy setting and launching on Facebook.

In the game, players create custom avatars and battle other players in a variety of locations ("festive towns, shadowy forests, gloomy swamps, and beyond") to win weapons, spells, experience, and treasure. They can outfit their characters before each match with Battle Items they've collected, picking appropriate weapons for different encounters.

The studio partnered with SQLstream for the project, using the analytics company's technology for monitoring and studying metrics in real-time. Gravity Bear believes SQLstream's tools will help with the deployment and growth of Battle Punks, as the developer can use the data to make adjustments that suit players' needs and tastes.

"Our goal with Battle Punks is to help people have fun and deeply memorable experiences with their friends through games," says Gravity Bear co-founder and CEO Phil Shenk. "This is the primary mission of Gravity Bear, so our first title is designed from the ground up to be a shining example of that philosophy of community and fun. We can’t wait to build a new community of people who simply love games as much as we do."

Battle Punks is expected to enter its open beta phase during the 2009 holiday season. You can see a couple screenshots for the upcoming title after the break.