It seems that the plot surrounding Frontier Developments' canceled project, "The Outsider," grows thicker. A video sent to Joystiq this morning by an anonymous source reveals that the game was actually a Jason Bourne-based project known as "The Bourne Redemption." But wait, that game footage looks mighty familiar -- is that The Outsider? Sure looks like it, but now it's known as "The Bourne Redemption." Interesting!
And given that the clip is interspersed with footage from the third Bourne film, "The Bourne Ultimatum," we're guessing that Frontier was hard at work on "The Outsider" / "The Bourne Redemption" when the project was canned for a variety of reasons. Moreover, the clip we were sent is specifically noted as the "greenlight" for the project, which either means it's moving forward or, more likely, this video was the original proof of concept that got the ball rolling on development.
We'd love to tell you more, but other than the clip above, we don't know much else. But perhaps you do? You're welcome to tip us with more info! We've reached out to both EA and Frontier for comment.
Update: We've added much more information on the subject, just past the break.
Here are a few excerpts from the information that our source provided, which give some extra insight into the development of "The Outsider" / "The Bourne Redemption."
-On the genesis of the project:
"The Outsider project up until Jan 2011 had been running for six years -- the first three spent doing pre-production, the next two doing production work for Codemasters. Codemasters decided they didn't want to fund it any more, they were being bank rolled by a new Indian firm and focused their attention on core brands, so for the final year there was a big push to get the project as complete as possible while looking for publishers, or distributors for the game."
-On how EA got involved:
"It was in mid-2010 when EA were negotiating with Frontier over The Outsider, but they wanted a Bourne game because they own the franchise, and they didn't want to set up a new brand with The Outsider, it would be a safer bet to do another Bourne game."
-On the state of the project and the "Bournification" of The Outsider:
"The game was almost complete, save for final recorded dialogue and cut scenes. The actual game is fully playable from start to finish, and though not fully polished gameplay-wise, it was still looking good and close to being a damn fine cover-based shooter. There were some clever twists with disguises, and how the civilians behaved around you. Some really clever AI (or the illusion of cleverness if you like).
The Outsider was and still is an original brand. The Bournification of it only would have happened if the EA deal went ahead."
