Is d20 Modern dead?

When I am not totally mistaken the last major release for d20 Modern was d20 Dark•Matter and it was released in September 2006. The most recent article on the official d20 Modern site was posted in december 2006. So d20 Modern has got no official support for almost two years now. After D&D 4th Edition was announced there was some talk about a new version of d20 Modern based on the 4th edition of D&D but nothing further has been announced. So, is d20 Modern dead or is there some hope that it will come back in one form or another? And how will a 2nd edition of d20 Modern look like?

“Dead like a dodo?”
In my opinion d20 Modern is dead. WotC is currently focussing on D&D 4th Edition and the Star Wars roleplaying game. When the recent lay-offs were announced Wizards let us know that they want to focus on their core brands. And from what we’ve seen in the past, they probably don’t count d20 Modern to their core brands.

“Pathfinder Modern”?
No, no, Paizo hasn’t announced their own version of d20 Modern (yet) but I think it would fit into their portfolio. With the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game they are releasing an updated version of D&D 3.5 for people who just don’t make the jump to 4th edition. So they, or another third-party publisher could release something like an updated d20 Modern in the future and revitalize the game when Wizards is unwilling to fill that gap. The d20 Modern SRD was released under the OGL, so at least there should be no legal barrier.

“D20 Modern 4th Edition Style”
Ok, let’s imagine I am wrong and Wizards would release a new d20 Modern based on the changes they made to the d20 System in 4th Edition. Most changes would be welcome like changing saves into defenses and dropping multiple attacks per round. But I just don’t think that powers would work well in a modern campaign. D&D 4th Edition feels a lot like a superheroes game set in medieval times (which I like) but I don’t think this will work in a modern low-magic world. Also “roles” and “power sources” probably have no meaning in a modern game either. It would however perfectly suit a superheroes game but I don’t think Wizards will release a game in that genre.

So, what are your thoughts on d20 Modern? Is the game dead or will we see a revival in one form or the other? Please use the comments below to share your ideas.