Wizards of the Coast is Working on an AAA G.I. Joe Game

Wizards of the Coast is looking for specialists to work on an AAA game set in G.I. Joe universe. Requirements include knowledge of Unreal engine and experience in TPP action adventure games.

We may soon get a big-budget production based on the G.I. Joe brand. Wizards of the Coast, owned by Hasbro, which also owns of the rights to the popular brand, has begun hiring for four positions at its newly established studio in Raleigh-Durham. The company is looking for an art director, lead animator, lead designer and technical director. In each of the advertisements we can read:

"New Raleigh-Durham Studio is a new game development studio in the Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina area led by industry veterans from WB Games and other AAA studios. New Raleigh-Durham Studio is a division of Wizards of the Coast which is part of Hasbro. We are building a new development team with outstanding talent to create our first multi-platform, Action-Adventure video game set in the GI JOE Universe!"

From the content of the advertisements it seems that the new game will be an AAA title - a TPP action adventure game. The company is looking for candidates with experience in game development based on Unreal engine, as well as creating combat systems:

"Build and iterate on core combat systems such as weapons, abilities, player movement, cameras, and AI from concept all the way to ship."

Unfortunately, no more details were provided. The document published after the company's board meeting with investors reveals only that Hasbro plans to expand into the digital market by reviving popular brands such as G.I. Joe, Transformers, Micronauts and Ouija. Interestingly, Ouija, which is a board used to contact spirits, has been trademarked by Hasbro since 1948, which incidentally sells it in the board game category.

G.I. Joe has yet to see a good video game adaptation. In fact, aside from three smartphone titles after 2000, only two games have been made: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and G.I. Joe: Operation Blackout. Unfortunately, they didn't receive much acclaim from gamers or critics. Taking into account the potential of the brand, we hope that the new studio established by Wizards of the Coast will not disappoint its fans.