Sierra Relaunched, New King’s Quest Coming

The beloved Sierra Entertainment’s name has been resurrected by Activision to launch a new indie-focused game development program that will leverage some of the company’s old IPs. There are apparently already two new games in development: a new King’s Quest from The Odd Gentlemen (targeting 2015), and a new Geometry Wars from Lucid Games slated to release during the holiday season. Additionally, according to the full press release, original founder Ken Williams is excited about this development:

SIERRA IS BACK!!!

The New Sierra Launches with an Exclusive Focus on Indie Game Development

The Epic Return of King’s Quest and Geometry Wars3: Dimensions Headline the List of New, Fan-Favorite Titles Planned to Launch Under the Sierra Brand

Köln, Germany August 12, 2014 With a renowned history that’s served as the origin for many nostalgic video game characters, worlds and experiences, Sierraâ„¢ continues on today in a return to form that fans of great games will love. A part of Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI), Sierra’s focus is on indie studios developing innovative, edgy and graphically unique games, including new IPs and contemporary reimaginings of beloved Sierra classics. Headlining Sierra’s slate of indie games is an all-new King’s Questâ„¢ experience in 2015, and a new Geometry Warsâ„¢ game planned to launch this holiday season. Additionally, the Sierra team is well underway exploring other indie projects to potentially launch later this year, and in 2015 and beyond.

In development by the beloved and quirky studio The Odd Gentlemen (The Misadventures of PB Winterbottom), King’s Quest is a fully reimagined version of the fan-favorite Sierra game fit for both the old and new generation of King’s Quest players. Huge fans of the original King’s Quest series, The Odd Gentlemen are crafting a charming new adventure with an awe-inspiring art style, engaging puzzles, and a wondrous interactive narrative brimming with humor. In the new story, King Graham revered as the greatest adventurer to ever live shares his life’s adventures with his curious granddaughter, Gwendolyn. It is through these tales that Gwendolyn discovers the true greatness of her grandfather. King’s Quest is expected to make its heralded return in 2015.

Today’s news about the future of Sierra was met with excitement from its original founder, Ken Williams. (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,) said Williams. (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.)

Sierra began in 1979 with a single 8-bit Apple II microcomputer, and founders Roberta and Ken Williams’ love for storytelling and new technology that drove a revolution in the adventure game genre, and forever changed the industry. Today, a new wave of independent artists and entrepreneurs are using the same inventive attitude and latest tech to create amazing gaming experiences, and that’s where Sierra comes into play. With the popularity of digital platforms like Xbox Live, PlayStation Network and Steam, the new Sierra will cater to the unique needs of each indie studio, ranging from aiding in game development and first party relations, to PR, marketing and digital/retail distribution. Sierra will help foster today’s talent to create amazing video games as it has so many times before.

(Sierra’s goal is to find and work with talented indie developers working on their own amazing projects, or passionate about working on great Sierra IP, and leverage our expertise to aid them in bring these fun and exciting experiences to gamers with the level of visibility and awareness they deserve,) said Bob Loya, Sr. Director of External Development. (In addition to Lucid Games and The Odd Gentlemen, we’re in talks with a large number of other indie devs, and can’t wait to share more details with fans in the near future.)

The first title set to launch under Sierra is Geometry Wars3: Dimensions from the team at Lucid Games. Geometry Wars3: Dimensions is an exciting new evolution of the fast-paced, frenetic Geometry Wars gameplay fans love, and will introduce full 3D action and both cooperative and competitive multiplayer for the first time in the franchise. In addition to a full single-player campaign with 50 unique challenges and over 10 battle modes five of which are brand new to the series Geometry Wars3: Dimensions features dynamic and persistent progression, offering players a consistently new experience each time they play. Geometry Wars3: Dimensions is planned to launch later this year.

(Thanks to Sierra, we’re planning to release Geometry Wars3: Dimensions on more platforms than ever before,) said Pete Wallace, Studio Head, Lucid Games. (We’re thrilled to work with the indie team at Sierra to bring the next generation of Geo Wars gameplay to our passionate and loyal fans, and look forward to seeing you all online!)

For the latest information on Sierra, including additional details on King’s Quest and Geometry Wars3: Dimensions, be sure to check out the official Sierra website at www.sierra.com.

This might just be my wrong impression, but I have the feeling that without Kickstarter we wouldn’t be reading this press release today.