Brütal Legend Gets A Publisher

Irreverent periwinkle! Irreverent periwinkle! Brütal Legend has a publisher - and it's Electronic Arts!

EA and Double Fine Productions made the announcement today that Tim Schafer's latest third-person action-adventure descent into oddness has finally found a new home after being cast aside in the aftermath of the Vivendi-Activision deal. The game features Jack Black as Eddie Riggs, a roadie who's drawn back in time (and possibly space and/or dimensions) to a mythical Heavy Metal world, where he turns from head-bangin' to head-bustin', creating an army of hellacious metalheads to bring freedom to an oppressed people.

"This is awesome news!" said Schafer, whose Christmas has now been totally saved. "The quality and creativity of the games EA Partners has been involved with make it a perfect home for our baby, Brütal Legend. Some people were starting to wonder if the saga of Eddie Riggs would ever see the light of day, but now I think it's clear that this game, like Metal itself, cannot be killed!"

"Brütal Legend is shaping up to be a creative tour de force," added David DeMartini of EA Partners. "Tim Schafer is known for some of the richest stories and characters in our industry, and with Jack Black offering his vocal styling's for Eddie Riggs, we are extremely excited to help Tim and his talented team at Double Fine see their vision come to fruition."

Schafer and Black will unveil the first Brütal Legend gameplay trailer ever seen at this year's Spike TV Video Game Awards, airing at 9 pm EST on December 14, but fans are going to have to wait awhile longer for the game itself: Brütal Legend isn't slated for release until fall 2009, for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.