It’s not just a single game that Guillermo del Toro is working on with THQ, it’s a whole media franchise.
It seems that THQ is rather confident about del Toro’s as-yet unproven ability to make videogames, because the deal it’s signed with the Pan’s Labyrinth and Hellboy director isn’t just for one game, it’s for a whole trilogy.
Del Toro will serve as an “external creative director,” liaising with THQ’s executive vice president of core games Danny Bilson, director of fiction development Paul DeMeo, and developer Volition. Besides the game trilogy, del Toro will work with THQ on various “transmedia” projects. The rights to the Insane property will be split between THQ and the filmmaker, with THQ owning the game IP, and del Toro owning the rights to any filmed media.
Del Toro said that he wanted to make his trilogy something that gamers had never seen before, and have them questioning their own morality at every turn. He added that THQ and Volition shared his vision, and were committed to making his “completely new game universe” a reality. Bilson said that del Toro was not only a gifted writer and director, but was also an avid gamer and that his unique vision would result in three rich, stunning games.
The first chapter of the Insane trilogy isn’t expected until 2013, and with two more to follow it looks like we’ve got years and years of creepy, morality questioning to look forward to. This is provided that the games do well, of course, and you’ve got to assume there’s a get-out clause in case they don’t.
