Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson has been given the opportunity to create new games for Microsoft, including a new instalment of the Halo series. Jackson will work with Fran Walsh to create many new key titles for Microsoft, including two new "interactive entertainment series" for the Xbox 360 and Xbox Live. Jackson and Walsh are already executive producers on a film version of Halo.
Together, Jackson, Walsh and Microsoft Game Studios will establish Wingnut Interactive - a New Zealand-based studio "dedicated to the creation of world-class interactive entertainment." Jackson believes that new technology available will allow them to express themselves creatively in a whole new way.
"Microsoft has built an amazing living canvas with Xbox 360 and Xbox Live, which allows the storytellers of our time to express themselves in a new medium. They have fundamentally changed how people think about games," Jackson said in a prepared statement. "My vision, together with Microsoft Game Studios, is to push the boundaries of game development and the future of interactive entertainment."
Jackson believes that the Xbox 360 platform is currently at the stage where storytellers can work their craft in the same way they do today with movies. If the hype is to be believed, gamers are in for a treat.