Paramount targets games

The march of big media into games development continues apace: following bolstered games divisions at Warner Bros and Disney, now Viacom-owned Paramount has announced its intention to enter games.

A story on Variety confirms the move – our sister site MCV reported on the studio’s intentions earlier this month.

Paramount’s first slate of games will be based on new film IP or its back catalogue of properties, with an emphasis on casual, handheld and mobile games.

"We are entering into deals now where we will be publishing games this year," said Sandi Isaacs, Paramount’s senior VP of interactive and mobile.

The studio will pursue a variety of funding models to bring its games to market in 2008, with studio deals seemingly a priority.

Added Issacs: "There’s going to be a slate where in some cases we’re publishing, in some cases we’re co-publishing, or in others we’re funding development and another publisher buys it. It’s important for us to have a flexible model."

To ensure the move into games goes smoothly, Paramount has hired development veteran Matt Candler as its VP of interactive development. Candler will handle developer deals at Paramount, having worked at Grind Games and Seven Studios previously – he worked with Isaacs at Activision.

Paramount parent firm Viacom already has a games interest already – sister company MTV owns Rock Band developer Harmonix and recently told us that it plans to up its spending on games. Plus, Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone owns publisher Midway.