Revolution launches iPhone/pocket studio
BASS redux is first - and may fund sequel.
Revolution Software has announced the creation of a new division dedicated to handheld platforms, Revolution Pocket, and revealed that an enhanced version of Beneath A Steel Sky will be its first release.
Beneath A Steel Sky - Remastered is due out this autumn on iPhone and iPod Touch, and will be released for other formats later. It features new animated movies from Dave Gibbons, a new context-sensitive help system, and higher-quality audio.
Revolution Pocket won't just be targeting iPhone, either - the studio plans to launch games for Android phones, PSPgo, Nintendo DSi (via DSiWare) and others.
Beneath A Steel Sky is available as an open-source game already, for use with the ScummVM emulator, so to some the release - expected at $2-3 - may seem peculiar, but Revolution founder Charles Cecil says that the studio is keen to offer "incredible value for money", and that proceeds from sales could even be reinvested in a sequel.
"Yes, you can jailbreak your phone and play the game for free. But if you like the game and like the kind of games we make, then pay us a little bit of money and, if it's a big enough success, we can reinvest the funds. We can start to look at a potential BASS sequel," Cecil told Eurogamer in a retrospective interview about Revolution's origins and the creation of Beneath A Steel Sky.
"You know, I think a massive part of the piracy problem is due to a broken-down relationship between game makers and consumers. There's no respect between the two parties anymore. So I'm very excited at the prospect of repairing the relationship. I think this is the model we'll take with our future games."
More Revolution Pocket games should be announced in due course.