Long-time game publisher Sega and Bay Area-headquartered game developer Secret Level have announced that the two companies will work together to revive an old Sega franchise for next-generation consoles. Precisely which franchise is due for resurrection is currently unannounced, but the game is planned for release on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Secret Level's past work has included developing a version of the Unreal Engine for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, as well as the console version of
America's Army, the Xbox port of
Karaoke Revolution, and
Magic: The Gathering: Battlegrounds. The developer is currently developing the Xbox SKU of an update of the
Final Fight franchise,
Final Fight: Streetwise, in conjunction with Capcom.
"The talented design team at Secret Level has demonstrated innovation in game development and has a history of technical achievements that will help Sega reinvigorate a vintage and highly commercial franchise," said Simon Jeffery, Sega of America's President and COO.
The agreement continues a resurgent Sega's attempts to reconnect with a Western market by both developer acquisition (in Europe) and development deals (in North America), with recent results including partnerships with developer Silicon Knights (on an un-named next-generation project using Unreal Engine); Monolith Productions (survival FPS
Condemned: Criminal Origins); Sports Interactive (working with the former
Championship Manager team on
Football Manager 2006);
Outrun 2 Xbox porter Sumo Digital (the PSP conversion
Virtua Tennis: World Tour); Pseudo Interactive (Xbox 360 vehicle action game
Full Auto); and the acquisition of the UK developer The Creative Assembly (
Dynasty Warriors-style console title
Spartan: Total Warrior).
