Walking Dead mobile game announced, devs say it's "unlike anything" done before

The Walking Dead is full of life. AMC announced today that it has enlisted Finnish start-up Next Games to create the first mobile game based on the popular TV series developed exclusively for smartphones and tablet devices.

The untitled game will launch alongside the fifth season of The Walking Dead TV series, though it's unclear when that will be. AMC renewed The Walking Dead for a fifth season last fall.

Next Games was founded in 2013 by a team of design veterans from Rovio (Angry Birds), Supercell (Clash of Clans), and Disney (Disney Infinity). The studio has not released a game to date, but their talents are strong, according to AMC president Charlie Collier.

"We chose to team up with Next Games because of their outstanding creative and technical talent, as well as a willingness to re-imagine the unique and compelling world of The Walking Dead, which has built a significant and passionate global fan community," he said.

Next Games CEO Teemu Huuhtanen said the studio's Walking Dead game will "match the against-all-odds action and moment-to-moment tension of the TV series." It aims to find the "sweet spot" where gameplay and narrative "inform and reinforce one another."

"Like AMC's The Walking Dead itself, we're not giving away too many details right out the gate, but I can confidently state it's unlike anything we've seen from The Walking Dead franchise on home or mobile gaming hardware before," Huuhtanen said.

Firm details on the new Walking Dead game for mobiles will be announced in the coming months.

Though the new Walking Dead game from Next Games will be the first mobile game based on the TV series, it's not the first inspired by Robert Kirkman's comic series. The Walking Dead; Assault, from Skybound LLC, is currently available for iOS and Android for $3.

The most recent game inspired by The Walking Dead TV show was Activision's critically panned The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct from Terminal Reality. Meanwhile, TellTale games is currently working on The Walking Dead - Season 2, which is based on Kirkman's comics.