20th Century Fox will step into the MMO games big time with Ice Age Online, based on the movie series and a sure blockbuster if done right. And there is no reason for it to be done wrong, since the development work will be handled by Ragnarok Online and Rose Online Creators, Gravity.

The only certain thing until now is that all the future game avatars will be animals from the movie series and, of course, that it will be a MMO. Ice Age Online is scheduled for a third quarter 2009 release and, if the game will be similar to the previously released computer games based on the movie, it will be aimed towards younger audiences. Still, no official words about it.

"We are thrilled to be embarking on this Ice Age project," commented Mr. Il-Young Ryu, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gravity. "Fox is one of the world's most renowned entertainment companies and we're excited to develop an online game based on one of its leading intellectual properties. It is our aim to produce a great online game that will meet the expectations of all game users and "Ice Age" fans throughout the world. In addition, Gravity has been pursuing detailed discussions with Fox to publish additional online game titles in the future."

Elie Dekel, Executive Vice President of Licensing and Merchandising for 20th Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising added: "It's important for us to have a committed online presence for the Ice Age brand. This agreement will ensure that a top-notch Ice Age gaming experience will be available to fans online for years to come."

So this is quite some exciting news. Hopefully, Scrat, the crazy squirrel, will be as funny in the game as it is in the movies. I'd love to control it and turn the game world into pure chaos. And no, I'm not the evil dude - probably it's the only thing Scrat can do. But the third quarter of 2009 seems very far away and I'm sure we'll get more info soon.