Marvel’s development strategy in full-swing via Zen deal

Is a new game based on comic book character The Punisher the first sign that publishing giant Marvel, as we first revealed almost a year ago, plans to publish games itself and establish a direct relationship with developers and consumers? Certainly seems that way.

The Spider-Man IP owner has signed up Hungarian Zen Studios to develop a new game based on its The Punisher series, subtitled No Mercy – and the game will be exclusively distributed through PlayStation Network without any publisher involvement.

It’s the first time Marvel has made a traditional video game release without the involvement of a third-party licensor from the traditional games publishing business.

The game, an arena-based shooter, is built using Unreal Engine 3.

"You’ll see the Marvel Universe through a first-person perspective in some intense arena-based multiplayer action. Also, the game is being built from the ground up with some serious tec," said Zsolt Kigyossy, MD of Zen, in a post on the Official PlayStation US blog unveiling the game.