Of all the announcements deployed at Microsoft’s annual Gamescom conference on Sunday August 20th – from pre-orders going live for their Xbox One X console to Sea of Thieves’ Xbox-PC cross-play and more – easily the most surprising of the bunch came to those watching the live-stream via a third-party studio.
Following on from the largely acclaimed, four million-copy-selling LEGO Jurassic World, the Jurassic Park film franchise will gain another licenced video game adaptation this time next year, albeit one likely aimed at a far wider audience than the family-friendly platforming hi-jinks of Travellers’ Tales’ 2015 blockbuster…
Takeaways:
- Dubbed Jurassic World: Evolution, the latest AAA project from Rollercoaster Tycoon veterans Frontier Developments debuted its very first teaser trailer at the Xbox showcase, teasing the rapid growth of yet more ferocious prehistoric beasts and the fruitless attempts of misfortunate gamekeepers to control them – clearly, some things never change.
- What does seem to distinguish Evolution from its recent peers like TT’s retelling of the four films released to date, however, is its intriguing tagline: “Build Your Own Jurassic World”. Given Frontier’s past Tycoon backlog and the trailer’s final shots teasing the player’s ability to manipulate the attraction’s environment, introducing helipads and other innovations capable of taming its once-extinct inhabitants, we’re placing all our bets on the title taking the form of a management sim set in the grounds of John Hammond’s iconic titular theme park.
- As for a release window, all we know for certain at the moment is Frontier (and no doubt Jurassic studio Universal)’s intention to have Evolution hit Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC in Summer 2018. But with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom due to further the film franchise’s recent revival in cinemas on June 22nd, don’t be surprised if this pseudo-tie-in effort reveals a similar release date in the coming months.
Keep checking back at D-pad Joy this week and beyond for plenty more coverage of all the major Gamescom 2017 news as it hits the interwebs, as well as more details on Evolution’s development than even Dr Ian Malcolm could, uh, handle between now and next summer. In the meantime, don’t miss the aforementioned premiere trailer below…
An evolution?