GDC: Peter Jackson to develop two episodic games for Xbox 360
- March 08, 2007 08:01 AM PST
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Famed director Peter Jackson and partner Fran Walsh are set to create two video game series that might pave the way for a future of episodic gaming on the Xbox 360.
By Eugene Huang
Peter Jackson, auteur of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong, is reported to have signed on with Microsoft to create two interactive series for the Xbox 360 to be released in episodic format. According to a piece from gaming blog Joystiq, reporting from yesterday's second annual "Blogger Breakfast" event at GDC, one of the series will be based on the Halo franchise while the other will be a brand new IP.
Shane Kim, head of Microsoft Game Studios, was on hand at the event to reveal the news, stating that Jackson's two projects are still in the very early stages of the design phase. However, he also hopes that they will set a standard for other Microsoft developers to follow, confirming that the company is backing the idea of episodic content on the Xbox 360 wholeheartedly.
This news coincides with earlier reports stating similar information, confirming that the games will not be part of the direct line of Halo FPS games.
"It's not Halo 3," stated Scott Henson, Director of the Game Development Group at Microsoft in a phone conversation with Joystiq last September.
The only known detail at this point is that development for the game will be handled by Wingnut Interactive, a new studio created with the help of Peter Jackson and production partner Fran Walsh.
