Paramount to become publisher

Paramount has become the latest studio to muscle in on the games industry, following on from fellow Viacom-owned Nickelodeon's recent announcement that it would be launching an additional 1,600 (mainly casual) Web-browser-based games.

According to a report in Variety magazine, Paramount is looking to invest in all types of games, although it is particularly interested in the casual, handheld, and mobile markets.

The company will start publishing titles before the end of the year, according to Sandi Isaacs, Paramount's senior vice president of interactive and mobile. She said, "There's going to be a slate where in some cases we're publishing, in some cases we're copublishing, or in others we're funding development and another publisher buys it. It's important for us to have a flexible model."

Paramount has expanded its interactive department in anticipation of the move, with Matt Candler to become vice president of interactive development, and Luke Letizia executive director of interactive licensing. Candler will liaison relationships with developers, and has previously worked for Grind Games, Seven Studios, Six Studios, and Activision. Letizia has previously worked at both Sega and Fox, and will be overseeing Paramount projects which have been licensed to other publishers.

Isaacs added that Paramount may be looking for outside financing to help expand into the video game space.