After quite a while since the rumors first started appearing, Electronic Arts announced that it was indeed working on a videogame called Dante’s Inferno based on the epic poem The Divine Comedy, written sometime in the XIV century by the renowned poet Dante Alighieri. Only the first part of the work, in which Hell and its inhabitants are described, will be used for the Electronic Arts made videogame.

At the moment, Electronic Arts is not saying the period the game could be launched or on what platforms it might run, but it’s a safe bet to presume that the game will be released for the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3 and the PC, if not also for the Nintendo Wii.

EA Redwoord Shores, the development studio that delivered the space shooter Dead Space this year, will be handling development duties on Dante’s Inferno. Electronic Arts said that the game would be a third person action adventure title, but revealed nothing related to the way gameplay would work or to the goals of the main character. It seems that the nine circles of Hell, which are presented in great detail in The Divine Comedy, will be re-created in the game.

A trailer has been showed, apparently using pictures not taken from the game engine. It shows a character armored like a Medieval knight who uses a scythe to assault the denizens of Hell.

Jonathan Knight, who is the executive producer for Dante’s Inferno, stated that “The time is right for the world of interactive entertainment to adapt this literary masterpiece, and to re-introduce Dante to an audience that, until now, may have been unfamiliar with the remarkable details of this great work of art. It’s the perfect opportunity to fuse great gameplay with great story”.