EA Talks Franchise Reboots

"Syndicate was something that we took a risk on. It didn't pay off – it didn't work," Gibeau told CVG. "But in general it doesn't change my appetite for wanting to go look in the library and see what we have and maybe bring back some IPs for the next-generation. That's the nature of the business; some stuff works, some stuff doesn't."

EA Reveals "Redlime"

EA AND STARBREEZE STUDIOS ANNOUNCE THE REVIVAL OF THE CULT CLASSIC FRANCHISE SYNDICATE
Guildford, UK. – Sept. 12, 2011 – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) and Starbreeze Studios today announced the reinvention of Syndicate, a storied franchise at EA. Created by an all-new development team from the awarding-winning studio that brought gamers The Chronicles of Riddick and The Darkness, Starbreeze Studios delivers a unique and brutal sci-fi first-person shooter experience set in a not too distant future, where business is war. Players take on the role of Miles Kilo, Eurocorp’s latest prototype agent, and embark on an epic action adventure full of corruption and revenge.

“We are excited to finally reveal what we’ve been working on the past couple years,” says Mikael Nermark, CEO of Starbreeze Studios. "It's been a great experience working with EA, and an amazing opportunity for us to use our expertise in the first person shooter and action genres to bring back, and reignite, the signature action/espionage gameplay of Syndicate.”

Set in 2069, Syndicate takes players into a dark, Machiavellian world run without government oversight with many syndicates vying for total dominance of their local market place. With no one to question their intentions or actions, three mega corporations – Eurocorp, Cayman Global, and Aspari – are at the forefront of this brutal war for control of the pivotal American market. In the world of Syndicate, everything is digitally connected, including the people. Players aren’t limited to the weapons in their hands. Through DART 6 bio-chip technology implanted in their head, players can slow down time and breach the digital world around them to take down their foes using a variety of upgradable hacking mechanics. Syndicate’s blend of fast-paced, futuristic, action shooter settings and story combined with innovative chip breach gameplay instantly immerses players in a unique digital world.

“Our goal with Syndicate is to provide a challenging action shooter for today’s gamers as well as fans of the original. I’m sure they will enjoy and recognize the legacy that made it such a classic,” says Jeff Gamon, EA Partners Executive Producer. “Fans of the franchise will recognize many weapons and environments in the game, but in a whole new way. The game also provides a separate and deep 4-player co-op mode featuring missions from the original cult classic, which adds another layer of depth to the overall experience.”

Syndicate will be available in early 2012 for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and the PC. For more information on Syndicate, please visit www.syndicate.ea.com.

Syndicate Title Registered by EA

Various news sites are reporting that Starbreeze Studios and Electronic Arts have registered the name "Syndicate" with the US Copyright Office. Though still not officially announced, all indications at this point continue to suggest that Project Redlime is still in production and will be a modern release of Bullfrog's classic, Syndicate.

Project Redlime Cancelled?

"We will continue to focus only on a big production together with EA," says Starbreeze CEO Johan Kristiansson, and continues, "Our relationship with EA is stronger than ever, and the aim now is to spend more resources on the game that demonstrated the greatest potential. Detta spel är redan i fullskalig produktion.” This game is already in full production. "

New Syndicate in Development?

Starbreeze working on new Syndicate title for EA

Starbreeze Studios is working with Electronic Arts on a new title in the Syndicate series, sources have confirmed to GamesIndustry.biz.

The studio, already responsible for critical hits The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay and The Darkness, has been working with EA since August 2007 on the title, before confirming a collaboration in February last year.

The game has had a working title of Project Redlime, and is due for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

However, the game isn't likely to see release until work is completed on Starbreeze's other collaboration with EA, for a new game based on Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne character.

Syndicate's cyberpunk future first appeared in 1993 and was developed by Bullfrog Productions, a company co-founded by Peter Molyneux. Bullfrog was later acquired by Electronic Arts.

EA has not responded to requests for comment.

RedLime Still A Mystery

EA has announced that a Jason Bourne videogame is being developed by Starbreeze Studios. Roughly one year ago, we learned that the Swedish developer is working on a game that "reinvent(s) one of EA's most acclaimed classic franchises." The mystery title, codename "RedLime", is being developed for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC. Yesterday, the company told Eurogamer that the project is still in development but offered no further information.

Redlime Still Still Out There

It has been eight months since the announcement of Starbreeze's "Project Redlime" and nearly three since we last heard the slightest mention that it was still in the works. Now St3lt3k has found a reminder that that's still the case. He notes that the board admin at the Starbreeze Forums recently responded to a question about the project with a few short words: "Yup, Project Redlime is in production. That is all we can say." So, there you have it: not abandoned. Redlime could be a Wing Commander project... or it could be something entirely unrelated and disappointing. We'll know -- someday.

Birthday Trivia Answers

Wait, we forgot about the trivia! Here are the answers and winner for the CIC 10th Anniversary latecomers trivia. Congratulations to all who entered and we apologize for the delay:

Q1: What three models of Dralthi appear in Wing Commander Arena?
A1: Striker, Shank and Rhino.

Q2: What percent of people thin Redlime will be a Cybermage game?
A2: .72% (all of them LOAF)

Q3: What Wing Commander game has never appeared on an official soundtrack CD (multiple options)?
A3: Answers included Wing Commander Academy and Wing Commander Armada.

Q4: Name one type of Kilrathi fighter which had been planned for inclusion in Privateer 3.
A4: Answers included Dralthi V, Demon and Vaktoth.

Q5: What was the first fan project mentioned in the CIC's news?
A5: Answers included Unknown Enemy and Byydo's Wing Commander Prophecy balancing mod.

Trivia Redux

This is another annual tradition: the latecomers trivia. If you weren't able to make it to the birthday but would still like the chance to win a trivia prize then just be the first to email the answers to these five questions to us! You'll win yourself a CIC polo and Eisen hat. As always, all the answers are hidden somewhere at the site!

Q1: What three models of Dralthi appear in Wing Commander Arena?

Q2: What percent of people thin Redlime will be a Cybermage game?

Q3: What Wing Commander game has never appeared on an official soundtrack CD (multiple options)?

Q4: Name one type of Kilrathi fighter which had been planned for inclusion in Privateer 3.

Q5: What was the first fan project mentioned in the CIC's news?

Redlime Still Out There

E3 has come and gone with nary a mention of a new Wing Commander -- but there's still hope. According to this recent interview with Starbreeze founder Johan Kristiansson, the mysterious project "Redlime" is still in development. There's no word on when the project will be released, or even what it is... but it does sound like whichever classic franchise is being updated is in good hands:

Q: You're working with Electronic Arts on a top secret title. How's that coming along?

Johan Kristiansson: It's going very well. We started working with them last autumn and in February we announced we were working together on Project RedLime. It's a classic EA franchise that we're trying to reinvent and it's great working with EA. They're quite a powerful machine that we're able to tap into, it feels really good.

Q: What are you learning from EA, what are you hoping will help the studio grow for the future?

Johan Kristiansson: A lot of it has to do with how we present our concepts about our game to the market. Definitely, on the marketing side we are impressed by how they think and the long-term planning in terms of marketing the game. One of the biggest challenges is getting the sell-in. If we can pull that off then we feel pretty confident that we can also manage to sell to consumers. Also in terms of production, we're working a lot with agile developments, scrum methodologies and such. They're very open to new kinds of production philosophies and that's been a very good step for us to move in that direction.

Q: Do you feel a pressure to satisfy the fans and the legacy of this classic EA franchise?

Johan Kristiansson: Yes, it's always a trade-off when you work on a classic property in how much you should be true to the original and how much you should reinvent or create something new. It's a pretty tough trade-off and something we're discussing here everyday.

Q: When are we going to hear more about this project - when can we expect an official clarification of what the game is, exactly?

Johan Kristiansson: I'm not sure about that. We've not really decided on when to go public with that yet.

Let's Make This Brief...

The new poll asks which briefing rooms were most memorable. They mostly have about the same items in roughly the same configuration, but the atmosphere and circumstances of the missions we faced in each varied quite a bit. They sure look darn cool all pictured side by side like this though.

Our old poll asked what series was being reworked for EA's Project Redlime. Wing Commander definitely won our tally, but little new information has surfaced since the poll went up to hint one way or another. System Shock and Crusader came in second and third, which suggested people voted a mix of what they thought the unannounced EA game actually was and partially what they hoped it would be.

Mule Be Home Soon

Self-described lurker Radovan was kind enough to forward us an interesting article at XBox Family which suggests an interesting - if flawed - theory for the secret franchise behind Project RedLime. Their guess? M.U.L.E.:

This news comes to us directly from a student of one of the original creators of the M.U.L.E. game - Alan Watson, who still pursues game design in Georgia where he teaches. The rumor appears to be true based on Watson being the only living license holder of the M.U.L.E. name due to the death of co-creator Dan Bunten in 1998. We’re still looking for more confirmation, but believe that if this franchise is to be resurrected, it could very well be the much talked about Redlime project that EA has recently announced as being outsourced to the creative minds at Starbreeze.

The idea that a new MULE could be in development is fascinating, but it doesn't really fit with what we know about RedLime - that it's coming from a studio known for action titles and that it is reviving a franchise with some form of established fiction. These don't really apply to MULE, an amazing puzzle game from the earliest days of Electronic Arts history (on the other hand, Mules have surprised people before -- just ask the guys who ran The Foundation...)

Moreover, though, it's great to see someone, somewhere speculating about this -- the initial announcement of the mystery game doesn't seem to have generated nearly as much commentary as it should have. Where are the hard-working game journalists? Where are the top secret leaks? We want answers!

New Poll Predicts EA's Next Project

The recent announcement that EA is returning to one of its "most acclaimed classic franchises" has got Wing Commander fans wondering what it could be. In combination with recent rumors and comments made by EA's CEO, some Wingnuts think that Project RedLime could be the code name for a new Wing Commander title. There are a lot of possibilities, but some are better bets than others. Vote now to let others know what you think.

Our last poll asked Confederation defenders which Transport was their favorite to escort. The classic Drayman came in first with the alternate Diligent configuration boosting it even further. Wing Commander 3's Clarkson class was also popular, as was the powerful Monolith from Privateer 2. P2's Ogan was a bust with just 3 votes out of nearly 900.

BREAKING NEWS: EA Announces... Something?

This could be the big one: Electronic Arts today announced that the company is developing a game which "reinvent(s) one of EA's most acclaimed classic franchises." The mystery title (codename "RedLime") is being developed for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC - who could ask for anything more? Like Wing Commander Arena, RedLime is being developed by an outside studio (Starbreeze Studios) with leadership from an EA production team. There are several possibilities as to exactly what this title could be: Syndicate, Cybermage, System Shock... but given recent industry rumors, the nature of development and the inclusion of PC with the planned platforms the one which seems mostly likely is ours: Wing Commander. Let's hope we hear more soon! Here's the official release:

EA Partners to Publish Upcoming Title for PLAYSTATION 3, Xbox 360 and PC

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 21, 2008--EA Partners today announced that it has teamed up with Starbreeze Studios, the award-winning developers of The Darkness and The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay to reinvent one of EA's most acclaimed classic franchises. The title, with the internal code name Project RedLime, is being developed for the PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360(TM) system from Microsoft and PC.

"EA Partners is thrilled to hand over the keys to one of EA's most acclaimed franchises to Starbreeze Studios," said David DeMartini, vice president and general manager of EA Partners. "Starbreeze's pedigree is undisputed and we could not be happier to welcome them to the EA Partners family. The team is creating an incredibly innovative take on a classic property and EA Partners is poised to deliver a blockbuster launch on the global stage."

"EA Partners gives independent developers like Starbreeze access to EA's unrivaled global publishing infrastructure, letting us focus our energy on what we do best - making incredible games," said Johan Kristiansson, CEO of Starbreeze Studios. "We're already deep in development on Project RedLime and the team at EA is giving us the time we need to perfect our vision. We're excited to bring a new perspective and gameplay innovation to this beloved fiction."

Additional information about the Starbreeze project will follow in the coming months. For more information about other EA games, please visit http://info.ea.com.

Developers interested in working at Starbreeze can search available jobs at http://www.starbreeze.com

About Starbreeze Studios

Starbreeze is a videogame developer based in Uppsala, Sweden. The studio was founded in 1998 and currently employs a staff of about 75. The team has developed action/adventure games including 2004's "The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay" (Xbox and PC) which averaged a 90% Metacritic rating, and 2007's "The Darkness" (Xbox 360 and PS3) which averaged an 82% Metacritic rating.