Award-winning heist game Monaco is inching closer to public release, as developer Andy Schatz announced that pre-orders would start on December 12.

The top-down, multiplayer sneak-'em-up won both Excellence in Design and the Grand Prize at the prestigious Independent Games Festival back in 2010 and did so at a time when Schatz was better known for creating educational games about the natural world.

PC pre-orders are being handled by the Humble Bundle team, a crew that specializes in sale promotions for independent developers, and are to commence on Wednesday the 12th; Schatz intends to stream live footage of himself playing the game and confirm pricing at the same time.

The game is also due on Xbox 360, a destination for previous IGF Grand Prize winners Fez and Minecraft (as well as finalist Super Meat Boy); a Mac version is also in the works and, like its PC counterpart, is expected to be distributed via the Steam store.