Warner Bros. to self-publish, AIM-enable the Matrix Online

More than a month after Ubisoft pulled out of its deal to publish the Matrix Online, Warner Bros. representatives confirmed its Interactive Entertainment division will publish the title. To date, it had been unclear whether the media giant's fledgling game division--whose only previous title had been Looney Tunes: Back in Action--would distribute the massively multiplayer online role-playing game itself or would shop it around to third parties.

The Matrix Online is based on The Matrix trilogy of science fiction films, which were produced and distributed by the Warner Bros. movie studio. In a novel bit of synergy, another subsidiary of the media giant Time Warner announced that it would also collaborate on the game. America Online will integrate its popular AOL instant messenger service into the game.

According to Time Warner, AIM's integration into the Matrix Online will be "seamless." Players will be able to link their AIM handles with their avatars to communicate with friends both inside and outside the game. "Bringing AOL’s instant messaging technology to the Matrix Online will tremendously enhance the massively multiplayer gaming experience," said Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment's senior vice president Jason Hall.

The AIM announcement is the first positive news on the Matrix Online front in months. Recently, Warner Bros. Home Video's release of The Matrix Revolutions DVD was marred by the inclusion of a Matrix Online featurette prominently featuring Ubisoft officials. The featurette has since been re-edited to omit anything Ubisoft related.