The Matrix goes Online

Ubi Soft have announced that they will co-publish an online game based on the film, The Matrix. The game is being developed by Monolith Productions and EON Entertainment and is scheduled for release in 2004...

Warner Bros. Studios and Ubi Soft Entertainment, one of the world's largest video game publishers, will co-publish The Matrix Online, the first massively multiplayer online game based on Warner Bros. Pictures' vastly influential Matrix property.

Under the terms of the worldwide exclusive deal, Ubi Soft will distribute and manage the live game operations of The Matrix Online, while Warner Bros. Studios will oversee all story and content development. Both companies will supervise ongoing game development and marketing activities for the game. Following the beta test in 2003, The Matrix Online is expected to launch in 2004.

Set in a virtual, persistent online universe in which millions of players around the globe can participate, The Matrix Online will feature cutting-edge graphics, real-time martial arts combat and a rich storyline that picks up where The Matrix Revolutions, the third chapter in The Matrix film trilogy, leaves off.

The game is currently being developed for the PC by Monolith Productions, an award-winning independent game developer, and EON Entertainment, the company owned by the Wachowski Brothers, creators of The Matrix trilogy.

"The Wachowski Brothers' vision for The Matrix is one that extends far beyond the theatrical trilogy, and the world they have created is so rich that we've chosen to tell inter-connected Matrix-related stories in multiple mediums," said Joel Silver, producer of the Matrix films. "Our goal in collaborating with Ubi Soft is to create a multiplayer online game that reflects the trilogy's highly stylized storytelling and innovative action, taking fans beyond the boundaries of the movie screen and into a 'persistent world' where they can fully explore the vast realm of the Matrix."