Universal Studios approached Frontier about making Jurassic World Evolution, according to Frontier CEO David Braben.
We had asked Braben how the partnership came about at E3 this year. He says “we were looking at dinosaurs [before], but actually Universal came to us, which is a phenomenal honour and also a sign of the times.”
Indeed, of the many metrics by which to measure the huge and growing cultural relevance of videogames, being invited to adapt a flagship property by a multi-channel entertainment studio that has dominated the mainstream for decades is surely among them. And then, y’know, there’s the industry’s global valuation, the audience size, the engagement with gaming content on social media, esports, et cetera.
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We asked Braben whether Universal had a part management sim in mind when they approached his company, since it seems like such a great fit. He says:
“I can’t speak for Universal, but I think they saw the quality of what we’d done, when you look back at games like Zoo Tycoon as well as the games we’ve done since being a self-publisher, like Planet Coaster. They can see the obvious carryover, the ways we very carefully looked after other people’s IP and our IP, both from the Disneyland Adventures game and going all the way back to Aardman with Wallace and Gromit.”
“They have been great people to work with,” Braben adds. Would he like to extend the relationship, maybe work with any more of their IP?
“If you look at Planet Coaster we’ve already done Knight Rider, Back to the Future, and The Munsters, so we’ve got a good relationship with Universal and hopefully there are loads of great things in the future.”
Jurassic World Evolution is out now – as is the movie, coincidentally – and if you, too, cannot accept that “you never have control, that’s the illusion!” you can pick it up on Steam here for $54.99 (£44.99).