Firefly MMO Game In The Making

Contrary to my first thought when I saw the title today, this story isn't about FireFly Studios starting development on a massively-multiplayer online game (thank God!), but rather the resurrection of the former fan-favorite sci-fi TV series Firefly, in an upcoming MMORPG. The rights for the Firefly game were acquired from 20th Century Fox Licensing by Multiverse Network, a company that is currently developing a MMO platform - but will not be making the actual game. Instead, they plan to hire an independent studio for the job, who will be using the Multiverse Platform in order to create the Firefly MMO.

"Fox's Firefly series is set in an incredibly rich and exciting universe. It's going to make a very compelling and unique online experience filled with adventure, humor, and mystery", said Corey Bridges, Multiverse co-founder and Executive Producer. "It's our hope that Firefly's passionate and dedicated community of fans will enjoy the chance to become part of the story as they develop and explore the worlds of Firefly."

Even though their platform is still in beta-testing and there has been no actual development on the game so far, Multiverse's announcement already mentions a tentative release date for the Firefly MMO, in 2008. Which either means that they have no idea how much time it takes to make a good MMO game, or that Firefly will not be a good MMO game. Or both, I'd say.

But hey, at least they have plenty of ambition. In an early Wired report from yesterday, Bridges is also quoted as saying:

"Television series can be really good properties to turn into MMOs, because when you make a TV series, not only do you need great characters, but you need to create a full, rich, compelling place. If you're doing science fiction, you have to really think it out and create an incredibly rich environment that is compelling in its own right, and worth exploring and going back to week after week. That's what Joss Whedon did with Firefly.

(...)

We want to find someone who wants to do something unique and fun and interesting, not just a re-skin of World of Warcraft or Star Wars Galaxies."

Well, considering that the original Firefly TV series was dropped after a single season, only to be concluded with the spin-off movie Serenity, I don't see how things can get any worse for the fans. But, then again, surprises are quite common in this playful industry, and they're not always good...

(N.B. Archive text, links removed)