Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Apr 4, 2018 17:31:03 GMT -6
variety.com/2018/digital/news/skybound-games-1202743632/#utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=social_bar&utm_content=bottom&utm_id=1202743632
Skybound Entertainment, the multiplatform entertainment company best known for the “Walking Dead” franchise, launched a dedicated video game division called Skybound Games Wednesday. The unit will be led by Ian Howe, who previously was president of 505 Games.
“Partnering with David Alpert, Robert Kirkman, and the rest of the Skybound team is the perfect home for a new video games publishing venture, given their continued dedication to creators in all forms of media,” said Howe in a statement.
Skybound Games is dedicated to publishing independently developed games and bringing them to wider audiences across multiple game consoles and other devices. One of the first titles to be published by Skybound Games include “The Long Dark,” (pictured above) which is being described as an apocalyptic-survival adventure. It has been developed by the Canadian video game studio Hinterland, and was first released by the company in summer of last year.
“I’m excited to partner with Skybound Games and look forward to future collaborations that will bring ‘The Long Dark’ to fans of ‘The Walking Dead,’ and beyond,” said Hinterland founder and creative director Raphael van Lierop in a statement.
Second launch title for Skybound Games is “Slime Rancher,” which follows a rancher called Beatrix LeBeau to an outer-space ranch where she tries to grow living wrangling slimes. It has been developed by San Mateo, Calif.-based Monomi Park, and has sold more than 1.3 million units on PC and Xbox One thus far. Both games are scheduled to come to stores in September of 2018.
This isn’t Skybound’s first foray into the video gaming space. The company’s subsidiary Skybound Interactive has for some time worked on its own games based on Skybound IP, including a “Walking dead” VR game that is currently being developed in collaboration with Skydance.
With Skybound Games, the company is looking to add games with original IP from independent studios to its roster. And who knows — some of that might even inspire new Skybound content for TV. “The Walking Dead,” after all, began with a comic book series before it made the jump to the screen.