Strategy First Sign Jagged Alliance Movie Deal

Officials from publisher Strategy First have announced a partnership with Los Angeles based video game and film production company Union Entertainment to create a movie adaptation of the Jagged Alliance. Although movie adaptations of best selling games have become almost common place in Hollywood, turn-based strategy game Jagged Alliance is perhaps one of the most obscure titles yet to be chosen for movie treatment. The original games gained a small but passionate fanbase and were noted for their sense of humor and the strong individual personalities of the game’s group of mercenaries. The series spawned two sequels and numerous spin-offs and expansions, although a third title has been repeatedly delayed due to controversies over the rights to the intellectual property and the direction of the series. Jagged Alliance 3 was re-announced in December 2006, to be developed by Russian studios Akella and F3games. “Jagged Alliance is high on character and action, but with a dark humor that fans relish,” said Union president Richard Leibowitz. “Jagged Alliance has a solid premise and its character-driven game story makes it much better suited to film adaptation than many other game properties. Those elements are key to successful game-to-film translations.” “Jagged Alliance is a great game franchise with dynamic characters and personalities that belong on the silver screen. This project is a brilliant take on the property and we anticipate a truly original picture coming out of this series”, said Emanuel Wall, Strategy First’s business development manager.