Jagged Alliance franchise acquired by bitComposer
- March 09, 2010 15:05 PM PST
Publisher bitComposer, the group behind Ninja Blade and S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Call of Pripyat has announced today that they have acquired the right to the storied strategy game franchise Jagged Alliance.
German publisher bitComposer has announced that preliminary development work has begun on Jagged Alliance 3 after the company secured the full rights to the license from Strategy First. According to a press release, "the aim is to preserve the popular basic concept of the previous versions and place it in a contemporary setting." A specific release date for Jagged Alliance 3 has not yet been confirmed, but a 2011 release is anticipated.
"Although Jagged Alliance 2 was published over 10 years ago now, the game still represents a milestone in the genre and boasts a huge following of loyal fans," said Wolfgang Duhr, managing director of bitComposer Games. "We are delighted to acquire this classic game for bitComposer, and want to continue the success of the previous titles in the series, while giving the new version a contemporary look, bearing in mind the strong features of its predecessors."
The first Jagged Alliance game was released on the PC in 1994, and the franchise has won numerous accolades over the years. The second game released in 1999, in particular, was especially well received.
According to bitComposer, "Recently there has been conflicting information about further planned releases in the Jagged Alliance series. Apart from a Social Network based game under development by Strategy First, the acquisition of the full IP rights by bitComposer Games will now serve to clarify the situation and will lay the foundations for future development work under the license."
