Broderbund Gets Serious

Broderbund revealed its plans to form a new division dedicated to PC games, called Red Orb Entertainment (Broder spelled backwards). The company, whose only mainstream gaming hit is Myst, is better known as an educational developer of children's software than a gaming powerhouse. Its most famous title is probably Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

Companies like Raven Software (Hexen), Strategic Studies Group and Presto Studios (The Journeyman Project), Smoking Car Productions (founded by the creator of Prince of Persia, Jordan Mechner), and Cyan Inc. (Myst) have all signed on to create games for Red Orb. Just added to this list is Trilobyte Inc., which made a splash in the industry with The 7th Guest and sequel The 11th Hour.

The debut of Red Orb marks the release of a strong lineup of seven games, including the much-anticipated Riven: Sequel to Myst this fall. The Last Express, a mystery adventure taking place on the Orient Express, has been available from Broderbund since April, and Red Orb will release turn-based fantasy strategy title Warlords III: Reign of Heroes this summer. WarBreeds, a real-time strategy game with multiplayer capability focusing on four alien clans and due early next year, is Red Orb's first internally developed title.

Also on Red Orb's roster is The Journeyman Project 3, an adventure game due early in 1998 from Presto that follows the exploits of Agent 5 and Raven's Take No Prisoners, an overhead-view shooter for publication in fall 1997. This fall Trilobyte will also provide a currently unnamed combat action game.