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BioWare Edmonton and producer Casey Hudson working on 'a whole new fictional universe'

Mike Schramm — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 18:00:00 EST

During a panel this weekend at PAX East, Mass Effect producer Casey Hudson revealed that his team at BioWare Edmonton has started work on "a whole new fictional universe." Other details weren't shared, except that Hudson said that he and BioWare's Senior Creative Director Preston Watamaniuk are going to be "building something new" together.

Hudson oversaw Mass Effect 3 as an executive producer, and he says he'll still serve that role on the next Mass Effect title. But that game is being developed at BioWare Montreal, so Hudson's team at BioWare Edmonton has moved on to something completely new. Hopefully we'll hear more about it soon.

BioWare Edmonton and producer Casey Hudson working on 'a whole new fictional universe' originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 24 Mar 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dead Rising 2 dev working on 'unannounced new IP'

Richard Mitchell — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:45:00 EST

We've known that Capcom's Vancouver studio (formerly Blue Castle Games) was hard at work on two different projects and now, if a recent job listing is to be believed, it appears that at least one of them is a brand new IP. This listing asks for a design director on an "unannounced new IP," specifically a third-person game filled with both "action" and "adventure." Such a project makes sense, given the studio's experience with Dead Rising 2.

We're just going to go out on a limb here and say the studio is pulling the Proto Man costume from Dead Rising 2: Off the Record in order to create a brand new franchise: Proto Man Legends. It's the only logical explanation.

Capcom Vancouver is also rumored to be working on Dead Rising 3. Like that will ever happen.

Dead Rising 2 dev working on 'unannounced new IP' originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Crystal Dynamics has new IP in the works

Richard Mitchell — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 21:00:00 EST

It looks like Crystal Dynamics is up to more than Lara Croft's latest reboot. Posting on the Square Enix Members blog, Crystal Dynamics community manager Meagan Marie revealed that, in addition to Tomb Raider, the company is also "hard at work preparing to reveal exciting new intellectual property to the world." Exactly what that property is remains a mystery, though studio head Darrell Gallagher promised that 2012 will be "the biggest year in Crystal's history" and that there are "amazing things" in store.

The obvious question: Is Gex old enough to be considered new again?

Crystal Dynamics has new IP in the works originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 04 Jan 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Epic's Cliffy B teases 'fresh, new experience' to be revealed at VGAs

Ben Gilbert — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:00:00 EST

We've been let down by Epic teasing new IP in the past, so we're a bit wary of tipping you off on this one. That said, Epic Games design director Cliff Bleszinski took to an official Spike Video Game Awards promo himself to hint at a big reveal coming from his studio this week. "An entirely fresh, new experience" is what Bleszinski characterizes the unveiling as, specifically noting that it doesn't have anything to do with Gears of War or Infinity Blade.

Presumably, the reveal does have something to do with the once teased GDC 2011 announcement (the announcement that never happened), as well as the recent hirings, though Bleszinski isn't offering up much else in the clip. Okay, okay -- he also offers that the project is being developed internally at the Cary, NC headquarters for Epic. Otherwise, like you, we'll find out what the big secret is when the VGAs air later this week. Peep the teaser right here in the meantime.

Epic's Cliffy B teases 'fresh, new experience' to be revealed at VGAs originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Epic hiring for 'new unannounced IP'

Jordan Mallory — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 13:30:00 EST

If you're an experienced gameplay programmer with strong C++ skills and a history with Unreal Engine, Epic wants you to work on Gears of War 3. They also want to tease the entire human population of the universe by mentioning a "new unannounced IP" in the same want-ad, which could be literally anything.

The possibilities are endless; that's why a secret new IP is always such an exciting thing. Without an existing universe restricting their creativity, Epic's designers are free to follow their whimsy. If we may be so bold as to make a suggestion, Epic, how about a point-and-click rhythm-adventure game set in an alternate future-history, where mathletes compete in life-or-death tournaments to decide the fate of nations? Or, alternatively, a twin-stick puzzle-racer about an army of genetically engineered Marmadukes?

Epic hiring for 'new unannounced IP' originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 07 Aug 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Epic Games to reveal new IP at GDC 2011

Mike Schramm — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 21:10:00 EST

Cliff Bleszinski said recently that Epic Games would unveil a brand new IP at next year's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. This will be a brand new universe, unrelated to anything Epic has done before, according to Bleszinski. "Gamers votes with their dollars and they often like established IP, but those IPs came from somewhere, right?" he told EGM. "Call of Duty was crafted by the original Medal of Honor guys. Gears of War was crafted by the original Unreal Tournament guy. I look forward to creating what's next."

We pinged Bleszinski ourselves to try and find out what platform Epic is aiming for, but he tells us there's "not much to say yet." The company has had a lot of success with Infinity Blade on iOS recently, and has also been rumored to be working on a Kinect title. GDC 2011 kicks off on February 28 -- we'll be there in San Francisco to cover any announcement for you.

Epic Games to reveal new IP at GDC 2011 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 28 Dec 2010 21:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ubisoft cautious over new IP, remains focused on established franchises

Ben Gilbert — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:20:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Ubisoft Europe managing director Alain Corre isn't one to parse words -- for instance, he told GamesIndustry.biz in a recent interview, "The games that are not triple-A are not profitable anymore. And that's changed in the last 18 months." He admitted that "we are still releasing some new franchises," citing Ruse as a calculated aberration. "It's a niche so we know the size of the market for real-time strategy games ... with niche games it's possible to have a hit more than in the triple-A space, especially in the fourth and fifth year of the console cycle."

To Corre, it's a question of investment risk. "To a certain extent it becomes less risky to invest more in a single game or franchise than spreading your investment between three or four games," he explained. "If those three or four games are not at the right quality level, you are sure to lose money. So the business model has changed and we're changing our way of making hardcore games." He said we might not see a new IP push from Ubisoft until the next generation of consoles, which he foresees to be "less than five years" from now.

Oddly, he doesn't bring up Ubisoft Toronto -- a studio headed by Assassin's Creed producer Jade Raymond -- that's said to be working on both "AAA-game" and new IP. Nor did he address the fate of the scantly brought up I Am Alive, supposedly coming out next spring. Based on Corre's statements, we've at least managed to come to the conclusion that Beyond Good & Evil 2 (not a new IP) should be getting a release date during this console cycle. That's ... something?

Ubisoft cautious over new IP, remains focused on established franchises originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GDC 2010: EEDAR talks new IP strategy

Richard Mitchell — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:00:00 EST

Game industry analysis firm EEDAR dropped some interesting statistics during its GDC panel this year. The first half of the presentation -- hosted by EEDAR president Geoffrey Zatkin -- concerned new intellectual property in the games industry. According to Zatkin, the amount of new IP released has increased slightly over the last three years. Specifically, it was up to 22 percent in 2009, up from 17 percent in 2006. However, breaking it down by console, Zatkin stated that new IP currently comprises 27 percent of Wii software, while that number drops to 17 percent on the PS3 and 360.

He added that certain genres see very few original properties, particularly fighting games. Furthermore, the relationship between new IP and ESRB ratings is different on various platforms. Most new IP on the Wii tends to be rated E, while new properties on 360 and PS3 tend to be rated T or M. Using data like this, Zatkin said, publishers can decide what sort of games to release on which platforms. The question, according to Zatkin, is whether publishers decide to follow the trends or fill the "holes" in their portfolios by releasing titles in underrepresented areas (any pubs up for a mature Wii fighting game?).

Zatkin also discussed the best time for publishers to release new properties. A bar graph illustrated a slight trend away from the industry crowding all its releases into the holiday shopping season, though it still accounted for 37 percent of releases in 2009. Zatkin also pointed out that many publishers release their major titles at the end of their fiscal quarters. The lesson for publishers looking to release new (and risky) properties? Keep your games out of the fourth quarter and try to release them in the second month of any given fiscal quarter.

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GDC 2010: EEDAR talks new IP strategy originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Codemasters working on new FPS from creator of Black

Mike Schramm — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 20:00:00 EST

Hey, remember Black, the PS2 and Xbox FPS created by Criterion Games before it went all-in on Burnout Paradise? Turns out the name wasn't just short for "black ops" -- the senior designer on the title was Stuart Black, and the vice president of development for Codemasters has now confirmed that he's working on a new game in a new studio for the company. Black will join former game director at Sony London, Tom Gillo, and senior producer Andrew Wilson on an 80-person team working with Codemasters' EGO engine to develop the brand-new IP, which the UK's Official Xbox Magazine seems to be hinting is "the shooter that everybody asked for."

We've heard a lot of people ask for a next-gen No One Lives Forever sequel, but that's probably not what they mean. Black did have some nice stylistic twists, however, so while this game is definitely not a direct sequel (Criterion still owns that IP), we'll expect to see Black's ideas assembled in a new form.

Codemasters working on new FPS from creator of Black originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 15 Feb 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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