Ubisoft rekonfirms King Kong

In an April issue of The New York Times, there was an article about the growing interplay between the game and movie industries. Among other things, the piece speculated that director Peter Jackson will likely profit more from the Ubisoft-produced game version of his King Kong remake than from the film itself.

Problem was, Ubisoft hadn't announced the King Kong game yet. However, reps for the publisher did confirm to GameSpot that the project was in the works, but refused to elaborate.

Today, however, they did. In a press release issued this morning, Ubisoft trumpeted its partnership with Universal Studios and Peter Jackson's Wingnut Films to release an "interactive game" based on King Kong. The game "will be available worldwide on all platforms" when the film is released on December 14, 2005.

While tight lipped about the game back in April, Ubisoft eagerly revealed details about its development today. "Working very closely with Peter Jackson and Wingnut Films," read the release, "Ubisoft’s prized Beyond Good & Evil development team and award-winning Montreal studio…are creating a game in their Montpellier studio in the South of France that will reflect the visual interpretation, character dynamics and dramatic narrative of Jackson's epic film."

For his part, Jackson seems to be having fun being part of the development experience. "I’m really enjoying the collaboration with these artists, and all the creative possibilities we’re discovering,” said Jackson. "By working closely with the development team, Ubisoft is enabling me to help shape the kind of gaming experience that I will be proud to associate with this new version of King Kong, a story that began my life-long love of film."

Ironically, Jackson had pitched a remake of King Kong around Hollywood before he decided to go with another project: The Lord of the Rings trilogy. After the three films raked in 17 Oscars and over $2 billion in worldwide box-office revenues, Jackson suddenly found himself able to secure $110 million funding for the Kong remake. The film will be set in the same 1930s era as the original, and it will star Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, Jack Black, and Andy Serkis.