A Firefly MMO, based on the cult sci-fi series from Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon, has been announced for a PC release.
Firefly was Whedon's next TV project after the hugely successful Buffy series but, despite gaining a hardcore following, it was cancelled after only 11 of the 14 produced episodes were aired. It has maintained its popularity since due to high DVD sales of the series and the 2005 film Serenity, which took up the story of the series two months after the events of the final episode.
The series is set in 2517, when humans have been forced to colonize moons and planets due to over population on Earth. Trying to survive in these times of interplanetary struggle and pioneering is the crew of the Firefly, captained by the wise-cracking Mal Reynolds, whose members operate as bandits while trying to keep one step ahead of the ruling force in the Firefly universe - the Alliance.
The Firefly MMO is set in this universe but will not focus on the Firefly crew. As the co-founder and executive producer of developer Multiverse, Corey Bridgesexplained to tech mag Wired: "there's only one Mal Reynolds". But Bridges believes the Firefly universe is rich enough to support an MMO, describing it as "compelling in its own right, and worth exploring and going back to week after week".
Multiverse is currently hiring a development team to work on the project, which it hopes to have released by the end of 2008.
December 8, 2006
