Sega signs Alien franchise @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on December 11, 2006

News: An RPG and first person shooter are on the way.

Sega today announced they will be creating new games based on the Alien series of movies and that the first one will be released in 2009.

Two games (a Role Playing Game and a First Person Shooter) are in the pipeline for unnamed "next-generation systems." While we don't know which systems the titles will appear on, we do know who's going to be doing the development work.

In a slight goof, the copyright information at the bottom of Sega's Alien teaser page features the names Obsidian Entertainment and Gearbox Software. From here we can make a few educated guesses. Obsidian will no doubt be working on the RPG because of their experience with Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II and Neverwinter Nights 2. Meanwhile, Gearbox is best known for the Brothers in Arms series, but they've shown their Sci-Fi FPS metal before with the PC port of Halo and the PS2 port of Half-Life.

УAs a direct result of Fox's efforts over the past 27 years, Alien has become one of the most recognised franchises in the motion picture industry,Ф said Simon Jeffery, President and Chief Operating Officer, SEGA of America, Inc. УSEGA will utilise the power of next-gen systems to blend the time-honoured story with leading edge design technology to deliver a riveting and suspenseful gameplay experience.Ф

УAlien is one of those special franchises that has continued to thrive in licensing long after it has left theaters. The L & M program has been very successful over the years because we have partnered with the best companies in each category and created appealing products that become must-haves for the extremely loyal Alien fans.Ф added Elie Dekel, Executive Vice President, Fox Licensing & Merchandising. УWe look forward to partnering with SEGA, a known leader in the gaming industry, to expand the program to the next generation gaming systems and bring the franchise to life with the newest technology and gameplay.Ф

Beyond this initial announcement, The Hollywood Reporter has said that Sega is talking to representatives for series stars Sigourney Weaver and Lance Henriksen. No other details were revealed.

We'll have more on all of the upcoming Alien games soon.

UPDATE: Sega has removed any mention of Obsidian and Gearbox from the teaser page. I guess they weren't ready to announce that part of the deal just yet.