New Ghost Developer

Swingin' Ape Studios, of Metal Arms: Glitch in the System fame, has been appointed by Blizzard to henceforth develop StarCraft: Ghost, the oft delayed third-person action / adventure adaptation of Blizzard's acclaimed RTS franchise.

The news came as somewhat of a shock. Just two weeks earlier it was announced that Nihilistic, Ghost's former developer, would no longer be at the helm of the project. Nihilistic's departure was said to be the result of timing issues. Hours later Blizzard officially stated that the company would first "evaluate" potential third-party developers before ultimately deciding whether or not to finish the game in-house. That was one hell of an evaluation.

Not only will Swingin' Ape first finish development on StarCraft: Ghost, the agreement states that Swingin' Ape will in the future collaboratively develop multi-platform titles with Blizzard based off Blizzard licenses. This could mean more Diablo, Warcraft, and StarCraft for all platforms.

Mike Morhaime, Blizzard Entertainment president and co-founder:

"The team at Swingin' Ape Studios is a very talented group of developers with a proven ability to deliver extraordinary games. We're confident that this partnership will result in titles that achieve the level of quality that players have come to expect from Blizzard products."

No other new details regarding StarCraft: Ghost, its release date, or these other proposed products have been announced. As always, stay with us for information as it happens. And, if you're a Ghost fan, feel free to add the title to your watched list so that we might be able to email you the latest updates as they happen.

©2004, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved