Hunger Games film studio Lionsgate announces Telltale Games partnership
UPDATE: Ex-EA boss John Riccitiello also aboard.
UPDATE 25/2/15 9.10am: Former EA boss John Riccitiello has also joined the board of directors at Telltale Games.
Riccitiello left EA in 2013 to become CEO of game engine developer Unity Technologies, among other things. His appointment to the Telltale board comes on the same day as film studio Lionsgate's investment, detailed below.
"Telltale has created something entirely new," Riccitiello said in a statement. "Their games combine linear storytelling and gameplay in an entirely new way that is fresh, unique, and compelling.
"I'm excited to partner with Kevin [Bruner, Telltale boss] and his team as they build on their success in bringing together some of what is the best of television, film and video games."
UPDATE 24/2/15 3.10pm: Telltale Games boss Kevin Bruner has revealed that the studio is working on a new "Super Show" concept that will marry a scripted TV series and video game.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Bruner explained that the Lionsgate deal would help Telltale develop a new IP with which it would pilot the new project type.
It's a similar concept to that of Xbox One exclusive Quantum Break, which is also set to combine TV-style episodes with choice-based gameplay.
"Our goal is to create products that have a legitimate chance of winning both a Golden Globe and a Game of the Year," Bruner explained. "This means both aspects of the productions must be first class work.
"Each Super Show episode [the interactive game and the scripted episode] will be released as a package designed so that you can consume the interactive portion or watch the scripted show portion in any order you'd like."
ORIGINAL STORY 24/2/15 3.50pm: Lionsgate, the film studio behind teen movie franchises such as The Hunger Games, Twilight and Divergent, has announced a significant financial investment in The Walking Dead developer Telltale Games.
The deal will also see Lionsgate boss Jon Feltheimer join the game studio's board of directors.
No new game projects have been announced as part of the deal, but the agreement was struck so that Lionsgate could further the video game potential of its own franchises.
"Our partnership with [Telltale boss] Kevin Bruner and his team at Telltale continues to accelerate our momentum in the game space," Lionsgate exec Peter Levin stated (thanks, Variety).
"The convergence between premium filmed entertainment brands and original game properties is a natural direction in which to continue diversifying our content business, and Telltale is the perfect partner with whom to explore this dynamic area of growth."
Dystopian future fantasy series The Hunger Games is the film studio's largest franchise by quite some margin - a game conversion would likely be high on Lionsgate's list.
Behind that, other high-grossing properties include The Day After Tomorrow, Divergent, The Expendables and Saw.
Telltale already has a busy slate for the first half of 2015, with its ongoing Game of Thrones and Borderlands tie-in series.
Then, later in the year, Telltale is expected to release two more titles - a third season of The Walking Dead and a new story-based Minecraft spin-off.
Presumably whatever games will result from the Lionsgate deal will follow after that.
