Monolith Productions, the team behind 2005's super-scary first-person smash F.E.A.R., has announced they are continuing the story with a new title to hit the PC and "multiple next-generation consoles". Good news indeed, however, the game will not be known as F.E.A.R. 2 due to some rather unusual circumstances.
Vivendi Universal Games, who published the original game, owns the F.E.A.R. brand. However the game's developer, Monolith, were bought in 2004 mid-production by Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment, who now own the rights to the game's characters ie Paxton Fettel, Norton Mapes, Leo Jankowski and the mysterious Alma.
A deal was struck for VUG to release F.E.A.R. despite this transfer of ownership but the deal is causing headaches. Having spent big money establishing a new franchise - something that should be encouraged in this age of endless sequels - there is now the situation where Monolith can create a new game with the same characters, but can't call it F.E.A.R., and presumably VUG could create "F.E.A.R. 2" yet it would have to be developed by someone other than Monolith.
To clear up some of this confusion, Gamespot sat down with Samantha Ryan, president of Monolith Productions.Their new game "will not be called F.E.A.R., but the IP ownership rests with Monolith and Warner Bros. Fans should expect that the sequels will be set in the universes they know and love."
"We believe that the PC audience is entirely viable and can support a game just as it did support F.E.A.R." she said. "To deliver the best quality title, the PC needs to be a focus. We believe that next-gen will also be awesome, but again, it has some differences and this is the approach that we're going to try."
According to Gamespot, the story will remain consistent between the PC and console versions, and will pick up where the first game left off. You can read the full story here.
Having thoroughly enjoyed the thrills and (blood) spills of F.E.A.R. the bit-tech office is buzzing with anticipation at this new thriller, especially the idea of a high-definition Xbox 360 game.
Since Monolith can't call the new game F.E.A.R. what other options are there? P.H.E.A.R. perhaps? Post your suggestions in the News Discussion forum and we will pass the best on to Monolith.
Vivendi Universal Games, who published the original game, owns the F.E.A.R. brand. However the game's developer, Monolith, were bought in 2004 mid-production by Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment, who now own the rights to the game's characters ie Paxton Fettel, Norton Mapes, Leo Jankowski and the mysterious Alma.
A deal was struck for VUG to release F.E.A.R. despite this transfer of ownership but the deal is causing headaches. Having spent big money establishing a new franchise - something that should be encouraged in this age of endless sequels - there is now the situation where Monolith can create a new game with the same characters, but can't call it F.E.A.R., and presumably VUG could create "F.E.A.R. 2" yet it would have to be developed by someone other than Monolith.
To clear up some of this confusion, Gamespot sat down with Samantha Ryan, president of Monolith Productions.Their new game "will not be called F.E.A.R., but the IP ownership rests with Monolith and Warner Bros. Fans should expect that the sequels will be set in the universes they know and love."
"We believe that the PC audience is entirely viable and can support a game just as it did support F.E.A.R." she said. "To deliver the best quality title, the PC needs to be a focus. We believe that next-gen will also be awesome, but again, it has some differences and this is the approach that we're going to try."
According to Gamespot, the story will remain consistent between the PC and console versions, and will pick up where the first game left off. You can read the full story here.
Having thoroughly enjoyed the thrills and (blood) spills of F.E.A.R. the bit-tech office is buzzing with anticipation at this new thriller, especially the idea of a high-definition Xbox 360 game.
Since Monolith can't call the new game F.E.A.R. what other options are there? P.H.E.A.R. perhaps? Post your suggestions in the News Discussion forum and we will pass the best on to Monolith.
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