NEWS - Thursday, June 20, 2002

The Settlers Franchise May Come To Xbox
Today Ubi Soft announced that it will bring a new game in The Settlers series to PC and, for the first time, home consoles. Ubi Soft's German studio Blue Byte, which has handled the strategy/simulation series in the past, will continue as developer with this latest installment. The Settlers is renowned for its rich art style using hand-painted textures and vivid color schemes. Commenting on the new game, Odile Limpach, managing director at Ubi Soft and Blue Byte notes, "This new game from the cult series will undoubtedly widen The Settlers' audience. Our production team is currently foc <> using on innovative 3D-technology and absolutely new game features." Of course, The Settlers will still stay true to its roots, building on the success of the past titles, which have sold more than 3.5 million copies worldwide on PC alone. Ubi Soft and Blue Byte have already pulled together a team of 25 people including many of the artists who worked on Settlers IV. The team is focusing on creating all new strategic elements with the goal of making the Settlers brand internationally known as a world-class strategy game. The team promises that conflicts between tribes will be illustrated like never before and all new 3D technology will be utilized to evolve the gameplay.Source: http://xbox.ign.com/