THQ, Big Huge Games Partner For Rolston-Led RPG

Though the pair are still keeping a tight lid on specifics, publisher THQ and developer Big Huge Games have announced a development agreement for the Ken Rolston (Oblivion) led RPG, expected to debut on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2009. Rolston announced that he was joining the company in February of this year, to create the to-be-announced RPG, ending the retirement he announced in May of 2006. A 25 year industry veteran, Rolston's credits cover both the video game sphere, such as working with Bethesda on the Elder Scrolls series, as well as work outside the industry on a number of pen and paper RPGs such as Paranoia and RuneQuest. Founded in 2000 by a number of ex-Firaxis developers and designers whose credits include Alpha Centauri and Civilization II, Big Huge Games has just released a conversion of tabletop strategy game Catan for Xbox Live Arcade. Big Huge president and COO Tim Train said, “We’ve wanted to do an RPG for years and I think we have a great direction that will knock everyone’s socks off. THQ’s ability to create and grow new intellectual properties, and their reputation for fantastic developer support, made them the ideal partner to bring our dream game to market.”