There are no plans for a sequel to Dante’s Inferno, according to Visceral Games Executive Producer Jonathan Knight, who said that what he’d really like to do next is a game based on an altogether different literary classic: Macbeth.
It’s a little hard to believe, but Knight says that at this point in the process – and with Dante’s Inferno scheduled for release next week, the process is pretty far along – Visceral has not yet committed to making a sequel to the long-awaited action game. “I’ve read the entire divine comedy and I’ve given it some thought, but there are no plans,” Knight said in an interview with IndustryGamers. “We are working on expansions to Dante’s Inferno that will be coming out soon, like a prequel campaign that shows the dark forest and unveil.”
Dante’s Inferno has been given a huge amount of pre-release hype that will culminate in an ad that will play during Super Bowl XLIV and if all goes according to plan, the game will be one of EA’s biggest of the year. In an industry that’s built around “sequelization” and long-term franchises, a follow-up to a game like that is all but mandatory, so Knight’s suggestion that it might not happen has a bit of a dubious ring to it, to say the least.
So once Dante’s Inferno and its various expansions are wrapped up, what would he like to do next? “Macbeth: The Game is something I’ve been thinking about for years, but now, I think the emotional quality that games are achieving and the value level of the acting and the sound work makes it possible,” he said. “The thing is, the unique quality of games is being interactive; it’s about action and killing things and pursuing those mechanics is tricky when bringing in classic media. Dante’s is more of a violent interpretation of the poem for example. Macbeth would be great, though; there are witches and a supernatural experience along with plenty of intrigue and murder.”
A Macbeth videogame? You’d better believe I’d sign up for that.
