The Walking Dead Creator Robert Kirkman Sinks His Teeth Into Billion Dollar Summoners War Franchise!
Jorge Arenas
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The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman’s Skybound Entertainment and South Korean game developers Com2us are partnering up to create a new television show based on the hit mobile RPG game Summoners War. Summoners War is an extremely popular mobile RPG strategy game that utilizes a tried and true turn-based combat system made popular by the Final Fantasy franchise in the late ’90s. The game debuted in 2014 and has been downloaded over 80 million times and brought in over a billion dollars in revenue. The game allows users to collect and use over 1000 monsters to fight against each other as well as against non-player computer-programmed foes.
Kirkman and Com2us want to expand their billion dollar mobile RPG into all forms of entertainment mediums including comics, animated series, and more. Kirkman isn’t the only big shot involved in the project. He will be joined by Skybound co-founder and CEO David Alpert and Star Wars: The Clone Wars and The Angry Birds Movie producer and CEO of Skybound North Catherine Winder.
It’s a risky endeavor. Video game adaptations into television shows and movies have been a mixed bag. Few have done as well as Pokemon or Digimon or even Resident Evil. One can just look at the latest Assassin’s Creed or Warcraft movies to see the risk involved in adapting video games to other media. However, the media landscape has changed. Kirkman and Skybound have been adept at seeing the shifting landscape and making good moves. He’s turned his comic book series into a television empire with The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead. He’s also closely allied with Amazon Prime and could easily bring new entertainment to the platform especially if its an animated series geared towards to kids.
While the move is risky, Com2us, Kirkman and Skybound Entertainment are excited about the partnership.
Com2us USA CEO Casey Lee spoke with Heat Vision about the partnership:
We couldn’t be more excited to work closely with Skybound to expand the Summoners War franchise into new mediums. Our goal at Com2us has always been to allow our amazing community to interact with the Summoners War IP in engaging ways, and through this partnership we can’t wait for it to expand into comics, animation and more. In addition, Skybound’s enthusiasm for our partnership has reaffirmed our decision to continue expanding into additional brand platforms in the future.
With the new partnership, Robert Kirkman will be overseeing the nurturing and development of Summoners War outside of the video game space.
Catherine Winder also spoke with Heat Vision about the new endeavor:
Building universes and a supporting narrative in multiple platforms is the foundation upon which Skybound was built. The opportunity to partner with Com2us on Summoners War, a rich and magical fantasy story, was an excellent creative fit for us. We couldn’t be more excited to bring this property to life by expanding the franchise’s reach in North America, and beyond, in mediums including comics, animation and more.
In a joint statement, Kirkman, Alpert, and Winder praised Summoners War and the rich world that has already been created:
The Summoners War team has created an incredibly compelling and fantastical world ripe with engaging characters and storytelling opportunities. We are excited and proud to partner with them to expand this rich universe, loved by so many from around the world for audiences across all cultures and ages, into multiple forms of content filled with the adventure and wonder of the game.
Casey Lee returned the praise:
To say we are honored to work with such a prolific and acclaimed creator as Robert, Catherine and the entire Skybound team, is an understatement. Robert has proven that he is a master of blending human drama and fantasy, while Catherine has been a veteran adaptor of major franchises into other mediums. There is no doubt in our minds that we are working with the best creators possible for building the Summoners War universe. We know how passionate and committed our fans are and our partnership with Skybound will not only allow for a deeper and more engaging Summoners War experience but also strengthen the IP’s brand equity.
What do you think? Can Robert Kirkman work his magic once again? Let us know in the comments section below!
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