Red Eagle Signs With EA Partners For Wheel Of Time Games

Malibu-based Red Eagle Games has signed a distribution deal with Electronic Arts for games based on the Wheel of Time fantasy novels authored by Robert Jordan. The studio will create and publish multiplatform stand-alone titles based on the books, with EA handling distribution. The deal includes console, PC, portable and mobile titles, in addition to a Wheel of Time MMO to be launched and operated by Red Eagle and distributed at retail by EA. Jordan's first novel in the series, Eye of the World, was published in 1990, and the author has since released eleven additional books, including a prequel. His four most recent Wheel of Time books debuted in the top spot on the New York Times Bestseller List. The books have sold some 44 million copies globally. Although Jordan passed away in 2007, author Brandon Sanderson will publish one more novel, A Memory of Light, in 2009, from Jordan's remaining notes and partial draft. Red Eagle Games, wholly devoted to developing Wheel of Time games, was launched in November 2008 by production company Red Eagle Entertaiment, headed by former IBM exec Rick Selvage. In conjunction with Universal Pictures, the company plans to launch several films based on the books, and at the time the development studio was announced, Selvage suggested that the corresponding games would release alongside the films, although no specific dates for either have yet been announced. "The Wheel of Time is a blockbuster global brand and our relationship with EA Partners will ensure that Red Eagle Games’ products are made available to consumers around the world through familiar retail channels," Selvage says. EA Partners senior vice president David DeMartini adds, "The Wheel of Time series has a massive worldwide following and we’re excited to help give Red Eagle Games’ interactive products a blockbuster launch on the global stage."