AMC’s hit series “The Walking Dead” will soon be terrorizing smartphones and tablets worldwide. The cable network has announced a pact with Finnish games startup Next Games to create a mobile game based on the zombie-gorefest series. The companies will co-market the game globally, timed to coincide the debut of season 5 of ‘Walking Dead’ on AMC, expected to premiere in October 2014.
Next Games, founded in 2013 by veterans from Rovio — creators of Angry Birds — as well as Supercell and Disney, says it is “focused on crafting majestic narrative-driven games with engaging free-to-play mechanics.” The Helsinki-based startup has raised $6 million in venture funding.
“We chose to team up with Next Games because of their outstanding creative and technical talent, as well as a willingness to re-imagine the unique and compelling world of ‘The Walking Dead,’ which has built a significant and passionate global fan community,” AMC president Charlie Collier said in announcing the pact.
The companies were mum on additional details. But Next Games CEO Teemu Huuhtanen, who previously was Rovio’s head of mergers and acquisitions, promised: ”Our take on the undead survival franchise will match the against-all-odds action and moment-to-moment tension of the TV series. We want to find that sweet spot where gameplay and narrative inform and reinforce one another.”
