What Bandai Namco's New Partnership Could Mean For The Future
Bandai Namco has given gamers stellar titles like Code Vein, Dark Souls, and Pac-Man, and now the company is gearing up to work on a new title — with a little help from an iconic animation studio. Recently, Aardman Animations, the studio behind hit films like Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit, announced it will be working with Bandai Namco on an upcoming project.
Aardman Animations released a statement regarding the new partnership. In the statement, Aardman mentioned that its team is currently working on creating a brand new IP with Bandai Namco. Daniel Efergan, the executive creative director of Interactive at Aardman, expressed his excitement about being able to bring the animation company's storytelling skills onto a new platform.
"This creates a space bubbling with potential, the chance to weave worlds with many windows, allowing people to play, watch or even perform with the IPs we create," Efergan said. "But no matter what the format, no matter what the platform, the need for characters to fall in love with, epic universes to explore, and ultimately great storytelling, will always be front and centre."
Aardman Animation is known for its stop-motion claymation style and plasticine characters. This also isn't the first time both companies have collaborated with each other. In the past, both teams worked on 11-11: Memories Retold, a narrative-driven adventure game set during World War I.
Although they've worked together before, this upcoming collaboration with Aardman opens up a lot of creative avenues for Bandai Namco, especially if the project is a new IP. Hervé Hoerdt, the senior vice president of Digital, Marketing & Content at Bandai Namco touched on this topic in the big announcement.
"This new partnership with Aardman is a dream come true, as it opens up a world of possibilities," said Hoerdt. "The teams at Aardman and BNEE are a perfect cultural and creative fit to build a successful long term partnership, and I can't wait to see what we can achieve together."
As of right now, there has been no further information or details about what's in store. But seeing as Aardman is known for its unique animation aesthetic, maybe Namco might try its hand at creating a new IP that uses Aardman's signature style? Perhaps the new IP will also be just as story-driven as 11-11: Memories Retold? Aardman says that active development on the secret project will begin in 2021, so it's very likely fans will get more information in the coming months.