The 1966 classic "Good, Bad," which starred Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach, was the last in the series but will be the first to get the interactive treatment. Bits Studios CEO Foo Katan said he is exploring options for actors to contribute their likeness and voice talents. He has not ruled out working with Eastwood but said that likeness and other rights for original cast members need to be handled separately through the individual actors or estates because of the age of the movies.
Bits Studios is employing the same business model as it did with the video game based on Warner Bros. Pictures' "Constantine." The U.K.-based independent game development studio acquires Hollywood licenses on its own, creates the game and then finds a publisher to distribute the title worldwide.
"We chose this license to help people to connect to the game more easily," said Katan, who added that classic Hollywood licenses come with a built-in fan awareness and don't have the drop-dead, day-and-date release deadlines of new theatrical releases.
"I think most game creators grew up loving movies and games," Katan said. "I think many games draw on the past of great movies and in many ways are following a similar creative evolution path as well as offering very unique challenges."
No publisher is attached yet, but the game in on schedule to ship next year for PC, Xbox, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable.