Stardock, Random House Enter 'Transmedia' Agreement For Elemental

Elemental creator Stardock entered a partnership with book publisher Random House, which established a new group that will take storytelling across media including video games and social networks. The newly-established Random House IP group's first announced partnership will involve Stardock's upcoming fantasy strategy game, Elemental: War of Magic. Random House will work with Stardock's own creative team to formulate the story and world of Elemental. As part of the partnership, Random House will publish the book Elemental: Destiny's Embers, which is set in the game's world, in August this year. It's common to see books based on video games -- Random House's own Del Rey label has published books based on Mass Effect, Gears of War, and Halo. But the Random House IP group wants to take it further than that. The group will partner with other media companies to develop and market IP, spreading a single IP across social networks, mobile platforms, and film as well as print. "A good story doesn’t necessarily have to begin and end with a game; it can and should encompass as many creative mediums as possible in order to provide fans with the most complete rendering of a fictional place or time,” said Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock and executive producer of Elemental. "With Elemental having an incredibly rich back story to tell, partnering with Random House allows us to create the most immersive universe possible for our fans." Gina Centrello, president and publisher of The Random House Publishing Group said in a statement, "We are providing a valuable service to other media companies in a competitive entertainment market, where success increasingly depends on the quality of your story." Keith Clayton will serve as director of creative development at the new IP Creation and Development Group, while the group's director of business development Mikita Labanok will report to Scott Shannon, VP and publisher of Del Rey/Spectra labels.