Ritual-MumboJumbo sets aside SiN for casual games

After the casual games developer MumboJumbo acquired FPS-oriented Ritual Entertainment, it roles were assigned,and priorities were set. But, despite this promising new team-up, some projects which are close to a lot of people’s hearts will have to be set aside indefinitely.

Sadly, one such project is Ritual’s classic FPS, SiN.

Taking on the role of a studio director, Relic’s former CEO Ken Harward confirmed with GamesIndustry.biz that SiN and its spin-offs, SiN Episodes, will have to be put on hold as they shift their focus towards casual games. This was the reason why MumboJumbo acquired Relic in the first place, and as Harward explained, “We need to put all of our energy towards the new games.”

First published in 1998, SiN is an FPS which made use of the Quake II engine. Then, in April of 2006, it once again saw the light of day via Valve’s Steam Platform, and it was shortly followed by the first in a planned series of nine episodic spin-offs, SiN Episodes: Emergence. Unfortunately, the second installment in the series, which was scheduled for a Q4 release, was cancelled January 31, 2006.

However, Harward remains positive. He noted that it may not be the absolute end for SiN. He added that “if there was a business opportunity, appropriate consideration would be given.”

On the other hand, he addressed comments which consider Ritual’s involvement in the casual games market to be a tad out of character, as well as a surprising departure from the genre for which they are most known for. Harward clarified that it’s all just part of the business:

The community just never sees it. Instead, they see the games that a publisher finally chooses to ship. And while we’ve worked hard on those games and are proud of the work, it doesn’t mean that those were always Ritual’s favourite choices, or that those games always represented what we really wanted to make … Those were the titles that we had a contract to build at the time. It is as simple as that.

After the casual games developer MumboJumbo acquired FPS-oriented Ritual Entertainment, it roles were assigned,and priorities were set. But, despite this promising new team-up, some projects which are close to a lot of people’s hearts will have to be set aside indefinitely.

Sadly, one such project is Ritual’s classic FPS, SiN.

Taking on the role of a studio director, Relic’s former CEO Ken Harward confirmed with GamesIndustry.biz that SiN and its spin-offs, SiN Episodes, will have to be put on hold as they shift their focus towards casual games. This was the reason why MumboJumbo acquired Relic in the first place, and as Harward explained, “We need to put all of our energy towards the new games.”

First published in 1998, SiN is an FPS which made use of the Quake II engine. Then, in April of 2006, it once again saw the light of day via Valve’s Steam Platform, and it was shortly followed by the first in a planned series of nine episodic spin-offs, SiN Episodes: Emergence. Unfortunately, the second installment in the series, which was scheduled for a Q4 release, was cancelled January 31, 2006.

However, Harward remains positive. He noted that it may not be the absolute end for SiN. He added that “if there was a business opportunity, appropriate consideration would be given.”

On the other hand, he addressed comments which consider Ritual’s involvement in the casual games market to be a tad out of character, as well as a surprising departure from the genre for which they are most known for. Harward clarified that it’s all just part of the business:

The community just never sees it. Instead, they see the games that a publisher finally chooses to ship. And while we’ve worked hard on those games and are proud of the work, it doesn’t mean that those were always Ritual’s favourite choices, or that those games always represented what we really wanted to make … Those were the titles that we had a contract to build at the time. It is as simple as that.