The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman is partnering with Overkill Software, the team behind Payday 2, for a cooperative first-person shooter game based on the popular comic book series. Confirmation comes from Kirkman himself in a Steam Community post.
“I’m a huge fan of what Overkill and Starbreeze have been able to do with Payday 2,” Kirkma writes. “It’s just an amazing co-operative game and I’m excited to be able to announce that Skybound is partnering with Overkill to make a Walking Dead game. I’m happy to say that it’s the co-op game that all of the Walking Dead fans have been waiting for.”
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If it really is “the co-op game that all of the Walking Dead fans have been waiting for” then it’s safe to assume that Overkill will borrow absolutely nothing from the dreadful The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, which we’re pretty sure Activision threw together with duct tape and the blood of newborn infants. Seriously. That game was the worst.
Kirkman’s note links out to a Q&A with one of the devs at Overkill, who sheds a little insight on what’s being planned. There’s not much to go on right now. A vague mention of Washington falling in 2016, though it’s not clear if that’s a reference to just the game’s story or the release timeframe as well. The game is said to feature a mix of action, role-playing, survival horror, and stealth, with players working together as survivors as they explore The Walking Dead universe.
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That’s the top-level stuff. The Q&A goes into very few specifics, but it gives a good sense of the studio’s attitude toward the game in the context of its other ongoing work. The only other key point worth mentioning here: Overkill will be announcing the platforms The Walking Dead will be available on at a later date.
You can learn more about the game on the studio’s official website and check out a nifty (if unsettling) audio piece that sets the tone for what’s to come on the original teaser page.