Electronic Arts to Publish New Bourne Game

The movie industry and the video gaming one seem to be drifting closer and closer as time passes. Either by Hollywood releasing movies based on popular video games, like Max Payne or Doom, or by gaming companies releasing titles based on movies, like Star Wars or the recent Kung Fu Panda, these two branches of the entertainment industry are slowly, but surely, merging.

The most recent example is that big gaming company Electronic Arts has just closed a deal with Ludlum Entertainment in order to hold the rights to the works of famous novel writer Robert Ludlum, widely known for his Bourne series, which has seen big profit after its movie adaptation starring Matt Damon.

The deal also mentions that EA will publish a new Bourne game, developed by Starbreeze Studios, which has been responsible for another movie-video game adaptation, Chronicles of Riddick. The deal hints to future projects based on the Bourne series, so other video games might also appear down the line.

“Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne is the most exciting action hero to emerge in decades, thrilling audiences around the world,” said Mike Quigley, group vice president of marketing, EA Games Label. “EA is excited to enter into a long-term relationship with Ludlum Entertainment, bringing the action, intrigue and intensity of Robert Ludlum’s fiction to life for casual and core gamers around the globe.”

When the first Bourne game appeared in 2005, made by Vivendi, it didn't really sell a lot, so it didn't survive the merger between Activision and Blizzard. Hopefully, this future game will be worthy of the Bourne name. With more and more movies seeing video game adaptations, maybe we'll also see a significant rise in their quality, as developers won't solely rely on the name of the movie to guarantee sales.