Disney taps Bithell Games for more Tron-themed titles

Bithell Games' new title Tron: Identity is out today, and it has more games for the movie franchise in the works. 

Heidy Vargas, a producer at Disney Games, recently said that Tron: Identity was the beginning of further Tron-specific collaborations between it and Bithell. "Players can expect more Tron titles to come in the future," she confirmed. 

"There are a few other projects in the works that I can’t mention yet, but of course, Tron: Identity is the start of Bithell Games’ collaboration with Disney on Tron-dedicated games."

Identity marks the first game based on the sci-fi film series since Sanzaru Games' 2016 endless runner Tron Run/R. Bithell first announced the title in mid-2022 during the annual D23 event, where Disney held its first game-focused showcase.

Disney's already announced a third Tron movie slated for production starring Jared Leto. Now's as good a time as any to release some new games for the franchise so it's recognized outside of Fortnite skins and a 13-year-old movie.

What does Bithell's Tron future mean for the studio?

Bithell Games is no stranger to making games for established properties. Previously, the studio released John Wick Hex in 2019, a tactical role-playing game based on the popular film franchise starring Keanu Reeves. 

That said, John Wick Hex was just the one title, while its tenure with Tron may be at least two or three. If so, that would put it in line with the likes of EA, which announced a three-game partnership with Marvel last year, starting with Motive's take on Iron Man.

In October 2022, Disney Games' senior VP Sean Shoptaw said Disney wanted to actively court indie developers like Bithell to work on its properties. To him, Disney needed to balance between indie developers and larger triple-A studios like Respawn (Star Wars Jedi) and Insomniac Games (Marvel's Spider-Man) for the good of its games portfolio.

"If we just narrow our focus to the bigger shops, we'd be missing great opportunities to work with a lot of really talented creatives," said Shoptaw at the time. "The right creator is worthy regardless of the size of their studio."

Outside of its current Tron work, Bithell Games opened its own indie game publishing arm back in November. Known as Lunar Division, the label's debut game will be The Banished Vault from Bithell alum Nic Tringali.