Activision has come out of nowhere to breathe new life into the publishing studio Sierra Entertainment, which has been closed since 2008. What does this mean in our gaming future? Sierra Entertainment is taking a slightly different approach to the games they are choosing to make this time around. Ken Williams, the Founder of the company, explained it well.
“We’re very proud of what we created all those years ago with Sierra Online, and today’s news about carrying Sierra forward as an indie-specific brand is very encouraging.”
Indie-specific is an interesting statement in 2014. It’s easy to figure out what that means when the word “Indie” can be labeled on about every third game that seems to release (especially on PC.) However, in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, when Sierra Entertainment was arguably at its highest point, the word Indie did not exist in the gaming realm and you could make the argument that their entire studio was based on the very games that would be labeled Indie if they released now. What we do know for sure is that Sierra Entertainment is committed to bringing back a few of their older and more popular franchises.
“We look forward to seeing Sierra‘s independent spirit live on, and are especially excited to see what The Odd Gentlemen will do with King’s Quest.”
Along with fan favourite King’s Quest, one of the first titles we’ll be seeing is Geometry Wars3: Dimensions, which is currently scheduled to be released by the end of this year. What does else does mean in the gaming world? Sierra Entertainment has an impressive number of franchises dating all the way back to 1980. That’s 34 years of publishing experience. Let’s take a quick moment to rattle off a few of the franchises that fans of have been dying to see continued and now have the chance to be.
It’s worth noting that Sierra Entertainment has been involved in several other franchises like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro The Dragon, Counterstrike and Homefront. They also published the original Half-Life. You’re welcome gamers.
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