Starbreeze 'reinventing classic EA franchise'

Since E.T. for the Atari 2600 embodied everything that nearly killed the gaming industry in 1983, film-to-game adaptations have frequently been viewed by the traditional gamer crowd as anathema at best. One exception to the rule was Starbreeze Studios' Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, a surprise critical darling that was heralded as one of the best games of 2004. Starbreeze followed that success with the equally cinematic and similarly well-received shooter The Darkness in 2007.

Having taken notice of Starbreeze's mounting track record, EA has decided to pass off one of its "most acclaimed classic franchises" for "reinvention" to the Uppsala, Sweden-based studio. Operating under the internal code name Project RedLime, EA said the game will appear on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

According to Starbreeze CEO Johan Kristiansson, the team is "already deep in development" on Project RedLime, though no other details on the game were revealed. EA has a number of beloved dormant franchises on its hands, not the least of which being Wing Commander, Desert/Jungle Strike, Road Rash, and Syndicate.