SANTA MONICA, Calif. and
STOCKHOLM, Aug. 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- In a move
bringing cutting edge entertainment technology to one of its most
exciting new brands, Lionsgate (NYSE:LGF), a premier next
generation global content leader, announced today that it is
partnering with leading game developer and publisher Starbreeze
(STAR:OMX) to launch a first-person shooter game in virtual reality
(VR) based on Lionsgate's box office hit John Wick. Best in
class virtual reality studio and distributor WEVR, the company
responsible for theBlu: Encounter, which was used to
introduce the HTC Vive VR platform earlier this year, will
transport players with the creation of a fully immersive VR
experience that will introduce the game. Grab, the acclaimed
development team with extensive mobile games and VR experience,
will spearhead the development. Starbreeze will be publishing the
product across multiple VR platforms.
The companies will team to create a standalone, first-person
shooter game based on the world and characters of the John
Wick films and centered around the infamous Continental Hotel.
In addition, Starbreeze will further integrate the John Wick
storyline into its wildly popular Payday game, which has
over nine million players worldwide, facilitating cross promotion
and integration of the two games. John Wick producer
Basil Iwanyk of Thunder Road
Pictures and the movie's production team will be collaborating
closely with the WEVR and Grab teams for the development of the VR
game and experience.
Starting soon, fans can check out a promotional experience
of the game at select events and stops on the HTC Vive World Tour,
which is making its way through the
United States and Europe. A
teaser game will be available at the launch of HTC Vive and
available via SteamVR, with the launch timing to be unveiled
later this year. The full game is expected to be available on most
existing VR headsets in Spring 2016.
"We're thrilled to partner with the best of the best in VR and
game development with Starbreeze, WEVR and Grab, who are
collaborating with the movie's producers to ensure an exciting,
immersive and authentic virtual experience," said Lionsgate
President of Interactive Ventures & Games Peter Levin. "John Wick is the perfect
cross-platform property to extend into the fast-growing gaming
world, and we believe that a cutting edge VR game will deepen fan
engagement and accelerate John Wick's evolution into one of
our next big action franchises."
"Lionsgate is a leader in producing and delivering the kind of
provocative, original and engaging storytelling that you need to
launch an exhilarating and marketable game," said Starbreeze CEO
Bo Andersson Klint. "The John
Wick characters and universe really resonated with our
Payday fans last year when we first incorporated them into
our game, so we're thrilled to partner with the studio and the
John Wick creative team to create a new standalone game
enhanced by the state of the art in virtual reality."
"Lionsgate has been a great partner on John Wick because
the studio not only believes in traditional storytelling but also
recognizes the value of extending its movies beyond the screen and
involving fans in new ways to explore the characters and stories,"
said producer and Thunder Road Pictures CEO Iwanyk. "Working
with accomplished gaming companies like Starbreeze, WEVR and Grab
is a terrific opportunity to bring the world of John Wick
into an exciting new dimension."
John Wick was a global box office hit last year, and
Lionsgate is currently developing John Wick 2 for
release next September. The film stars Keanu Reeves as an ex-hit man who comes out of
retirement to track down the gangsters who took everything from
him.
About Lionsgate
Lionsgate is a premier next generation global content leader
with a strong and diversified presence in motion picture production
and distribution, television programming and syndication, home
entertainment, digital distribution, new channel platforms, video
games and international distribution and sales. Lionsgate currently
has more than 30 television shows on over 20 different networks
spanning its primetime production, distribution and syndication
businesses, including such critically-acclaimed hits as the
multiple Emmy Award-winning Mad Men and Nurse Jackie,
the broadcast network series Nashville, the syndication success The
Wendy Williams Show, the hit series Orange is the New
Black, the critically-acclaimed drama Manhattan and the breakout series
The Royals.
Its feature film business has been fueled by such recent
successes as the blockbuster first three installments of The
Hunger Games franchise, the first two installments of the
Divergent franchise, The Age of Adaline,
CBS/Lionsgate's The DUFF, John Wick, Now You See
Me, Roadside Attractions' Love & Mercy and Mr.
Holmes, Lionsgate/Codeblack
Films' Addicted and Pantelion Films' Instructions Not
Included, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever
released in the U.S.
Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in
box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rates.
Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of
approximately 16,000 motion picture and television titles that is
an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the
foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The
Lionsgate and Summit brands remain synonymous with original,
daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.
www.lionsgate.com
About Starbreeze
Starbreeze is an independent creator, publisher and distributor
of high quality entertainment products, headquartered in
Stockholm, Sweden. At Starbreeze,
we create games by our own design and through licensed content,
establishing franchises that can live and prosper outside the game
itself. We live and die by gameplay.
Starbreeze is pioneering digital self-publishing, currently
hosting one of the largest community groups on the digital
distribution platform Steam. Starbreeze's most recent products
include PAYDAY 2, our adrenaline fuelled bank robbing co-op game
and the critically acclaimed Brothers – A Tale of Two
Sons.
Starbreeze AB is publicly traded on Nasdaq Stockholm First North
Premier under the ticker STAR and the ISIN code: SE0005992831.
Remium Nordic is the company Certified Adviser. Starbreeze brands
include OVERKILL Software and the PAYDAY series.
For more information, please visit
http://www.starbreeze.com.
Press Contacts
For Lionsgate:
Joanna Massey
310-255-3602
jmassey@lionsgagte.com
For Starbreeze/Press:
Almir Listo
+46(0)8-209 208
press@starbreeze.com
For Starbreeze/Investor Relations:
Maeva Sponbergs
+46(0)8-209 208
ir@starbreeze.com
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SOURCE Lionsgate