Ubisoft today announced that it will develop and publish the video game based on 20th Century Fox’s Avatar, the upcoming vfx specatacle from director James Cameron. As he did with Titanic, The Abyss, Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Cameron promises to push the limits of vfx technology with this highly anticipated feature, which will be released in stereoscopic 3-D in May of 2009.
Avatar is the story of an ex-Marine who finds himself thrust into hostilities on an alien planet filled with exotic life forms. As an Avatar, a human mind in an alien body, he finds himself torn between two worlds in a desperate fight for his own survival and that of the indigenous people. The cast includes Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and Sigourney Weaver.
“For the movie Avatar we are creating a world rich in character, detail, conflict and cultural depth,’ says Cameron. ‘It has the raw material for a game that the more demanding gamers of today will want to get their hands on’one that is rich in visuals and ideas, and challenging in play. I told the Ubisoft team I wanted them to be free to do their very best work, and not think of this as a movie-based game. They responded with a fully realized presentation which captured the soul of the world and the characters, while promising to be a knockout game on its own terms. Their passion inspired my confidence that they are going to do something transcendental.”
More than ten years in the making, Avatar marks Cameron’s return to feature directing since 1997’s Titanic. Oscar-winning visual effects house WETA Digital (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong) will incorporate new intuitive CG technologies to create the fantastic alien world and creatures.
