Viacom-owned film company Paramount has expanded its interactive department team and will be investing in game development and publishing, Variety reports.

The first of its publishing efforts are expected to arrive by the year's end, with the studio currently planning games based either on new company properties or older catalog titles. Paramount will directly oversee these projects and either partially or completely finance them.

Though specific properties were not discussed, current and upcoming film properties handled by Paramount include Mission Impossible, Star Trek, Indiana Jones and Shrek.

The report notes that an increasing number of Paramount executives believe that a more hands-on involvement with game production will help them ensure quality output and swifter development for titles based on their film properties.

"This gives us a great advantage in the timely evaluation of what's in development and could become good games, as well as working with our talent from the early stages," said Paramount interactive VP Sandi Isaacs.

The company said that it is looking to invest in all types of games, but is paying special attention to the casual market along with handheld and mobile titles, as uch games tend to be easier, quicker, and less costly to develop than full-fledged Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 titles.