Universal Details Video Game Plans

Officials from movie studio Universal Pictures have revealed that the company is forming its own video game division, following the announcement of film tie-in Wanted at E3 last week. The high profile merger of Vivendi Interactive with Activision saw the Vivendi SA (formerly Vivendi Universal) group effectively exit the video games market - although Vivendi Interactive was never focused on movie tie-ins, as the new division aims to be. Instead, the new business appears to be following in the footsteps of similar moves from Warner Bros. and Disney, who have recently elected to take more direct control of their properties in the video games market. Universal does not intend to publish its own titles at this stage, but will instead partner with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the release of Wanted. "We’re now running a hybrid model where we can license titles where that makes sense or kick off development earlier to put ourselves in a better position for success," said Universal’s Bill Kispert in a new interview with Hollywood trade paper Variety.