Ludlum Thriller to be Bourne by Darkwatch Dev

California-based High Moon Studios is developing a PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game based on novelist Robert Ludlum's spy thriller chronicles of fictional assassin Jason Bourne. With the full title Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy, the game will draw from both Ludlum's original novel The Bourne Identity and Doug Liman's 2002 film adaptation, which starred Matt Damon. In addition to the novel and film material, the game will contain new story content approved by the Ludlum estate; the author himself died in 2001. "High Moon has collaborated closely with Mr. Ludlum's estate holders, the guardians of his creative vision, since the day we began to develop the game," said company president Peter Della Penna. "The goal of that collaboration has been to create a videogame that takes inspiration from known elements within the Bourne universe, elements that have captivated more than a quarter of a billion people around the world, with original story and game play that establishes a signature Jason Bourne game experience. Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy is our installment to the series and is meant to reside on its own within the Bourne entertainment library." The Bourne Conspiracy will be a "third-person espionage action game" focusing on gunplay and close combat, which what is claimed to be a unique system for moving from one to the other. Originally founded as a United States development arm of Sammy, which in 2004 took over Sega, High Moon Studios became independent in 2005. Capcom published its vampire-themed Western shooter Darkwatch (PS2, Xbox), after which the developer was acquired by Vivendi Games in early 2006. The Bourne Conspiracy is High Moon's first announced game since the publication of Darkwatch. Vivendi Games' Sierra Entertainment label plans to ship High Moon Studios' The Bourne Conspiracy for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in summer of 2008. Several screenshots were released today.