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A game studio based in Crotone, Italy, has licensed Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan property for use in a new console and PC game – and the team is now looking for a publisher.
Twelve Games, which has previously developed games based on the Crash Test dummies and martial art Capoiera, snapped up the rights from Burroughs’ estate for a game in development for the Wii, PS3, 360 and PC.
It’s potentially a canny move: the property famously formed the basis for a Disney animated movie (pictured) and in turn its spin-off games, but has not otherwise been used in games outside of some mid-’80s 8bit titles.
"Developing Tarzan, one of the most enduringly popular characters of all time, for the videogame market, will be Twelve’s biggest challenge to date,” said Giuseppe Crugliano, founder and MD of Twelve.
"We are extremely happy that our vision of Tarzan for this millennium met with the same enthusiasm from Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. It will be a huge but inspiring task, a timeless character, timeless ideals, further enhanced by the sheer quality of next-gen technology. Tarzan has been a hero for generations, irrespective of age, and we can’t wait to get to work on what we’re sure will be truly captivating gameplay."
James J. Sullos, Jr., president of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., added: “Over the years, Tarzan has represented human survival against all odds, rugged individualism, and a protector of the natural habitat – he is the First Conservationist. His physical prowess and complex personality lends itself to a myriad of possibilities in developing high powered next-gen console games, and we are pleased that Twelve shares our enthusiasm. We look forward to collaborating with Twelve as it develops exciting Tarzan console games.
The studio added that the game is being developed with Emergent’s Gamebryo.
