Alison from Astraware sent me a press release this morning announcing a new partnership between Astraware and Revolution Software. Astraware will be using their expertice in the mobile gaming realm to help Revolution Software bring some of their popular games to the PDA market.

First to come is the widely popular - Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars. Previously produced for PC, PSOne, Mac and GBA - PDA users will be able to enjoy this game within a couple months.

The story opens in Paris with an explosion in a cafe, and unfolds as American tourist George Stobbart and photo-journalist Nico Collard set about investigating the explosion and are drawn into a globe-trotting adventure involving conspiracies, cults and murder, all revolving around the Knights Templar.

I am enthusiastic to see this game when its released - I may just have to try to find a older copy to try it out ahead of time. Time to dust of my PS1 or fire up my PC.

Read on for the full press release:

THE MIDLANDS/YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND - July 29th 2005 - Astraware and Revolution Software are excited to announce a new partnership which will see Revolution’s classic games brought to PDAs.

Both Revolution and Astraware are active members of Game Republic, an alliance formed to bring together companies within the games industry, so when Revolution first began development for the PDA games market, they sought the expertise of Astraware, the leader in this field.

The first title being developed for handhelds is Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars; the first in the worldwide multi-million selling adventure game series originally released for PC and PlayStation(R) in 1996. The story opens in Paris with an explosion in a cafe, and unfolds as American tourist George Stobbart and photo-journalist Nico Collard set about investigating the explosion and are drawn into a globe-trotting adventure involving conspiracies, cults and murder, all revolving around the Knights Templar. The handheld version is due out in the coming months.

“Broken Sword is ideal for the PDA,” commented Charles Cecil, managing director, Revolution Software. “The game retains its unique ability to captivate and enthrall and its loyal fan base still active today is a testament to its enduring power. Our agreement with Astraware will allow the game to reach an even broader audience. With their skills in handheld development, they are a perfect partner for this product.”
“We are excited and proud to be working with Revolution Software to publish their highly-acclaimed titles to handheld devices,” said Howard Tomlinson, CEO of Astraware. “Their Broken Sword games fill a gap which has long been open - for titles with great stories and fantastic presentation. We believe that Revolution’s games will appeal to handheld users around the world, just as their PC games have done.”

More details regarding the handheld version of Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars will be revealed soon.

About Astraware Limited

Founded in 1994, Astraware Limited develops, publishes and distributes games for mobile devices. Some of the company’s best known handheld titles include Bejeweled, Cubis, Zuma, Insaniquarium and Zap!2000/2016. Handango have presented awards to Astraware twice in recent years, with Game of The Year in 2003 for Bejeweled, and Palm OS(R) Developer of the Year in 2004. Mobile gaming enthusiasts have downloaded more than 30 million copies of Astraware’s products, and the company has customers in over 100 countries. For more information visit http://www.astraware.com.

About Revolution Software

Revolution Software was founded in 1990 and writes narrative-driven adventure games; from Lure of the Temptress in 1992, followed by the highly-acclaimed titles Beneath a Steel Sky, In Cold Blood, and the multi-million selling Broken Sword series. As well as developing their own highly successful games, Revolution has worked with companies such as Disney, Dreamworks SKG and Celedor to develop video game versions of their properties.
Revolution’s most recent original release, Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon received the high accolade of 3 BAFTA award nominations and was game of the year in the Independent. For more information on Revolution Software, visit their website at http://www.revolution.co.uk.

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