EA Making Minions Games
Electronic Arts' mobile gaming push continues. The gaming giant announced today that is has signed a multi-title deal with Illumination Entertainment and Universal to make games based on the Minions from the Despicable Me franchise, as well as other characters from the movie studio's forthcoming projects.
The first game from this new partnership is Minions Paradise, which launches this summer for mobile devices. In the game, users can create a "Minion utopia" and even play as an all-new Minion named Phil.
EA isn't making the Minions games alone, however, as Illumination's writers, directors, artists, and animators are said to be working "hand-in-hand" with EA's internal development teams on the various projects.
According to EA Mobile executive Frank Gibeau, the company's Minions games will offer an "engaging story and deep and varied gameplay." Gibeau also called the Minions franchise a "global phenomenon."
Minions Paradise will be a free game, supported by microtransactions. Here is EA's description of the game:
"Phil leads the Minions to create the world of their dreams after finding themselves shipwrecked on a tropical island. Players will help the Minions build, craft, and design their ultimate tropical playground, complete with whirling waterslides, electric eel tanks, firefly trees, and of course, plenty of bananas."
Minions Paradise isn't the first mobile game based on the series, of course. Gameloft's free endless runner Despicable Me: Minion Rush was released in June 2013 and has since been downloaded a half-billion times.
This also isn't EA's first licensed mobile game, as the publisher also created The Simpsons: Tapped Out. That game has been a hit, generating more than $100 million in revenue as of October 2013.
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