Bigpoint Developing MMORPG Based On Mummy Films

German online games publisher and developer Bigpoint announced that it's working on The Mummy Online, a free-to-play, browser-based MMORPG centered around Universal Pictures' The Mummy film franchise. As with the movies starring Brendan Fraser, The Mummy Online is set in Egypt during the first half of the 20th century. Players will take on the role of adventure seekers with customizable talents and skills, exploring environments and meeting characters from the films as they battle against each other and "ancient evil". Universal Pictures has extended The Mummy property beyond films many times before with novels, theme park attractions, and video games for a variety of platforms, but this will be the first time the franchise has appeared as a massively multiplayer online game. Schell Games (Pixie Hollow), the Pittsburgh-based studio helmed by Disney Imagineering Virtual Reality Studio's former creative director and The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses author Jesse Schell, is developing the title in multiple languages with the Unity game engine. "We are excited to adapt this popular film franchise for the global online games market," says Bigpoint CEO and founder Heiko Hubertz. "By leveraging our mastery of browser-based games technology and Universal Pictures' popular entertainment property, Bigpoint is quickly becoming one of the leading publishers of licensed games."