Xboxist

Zombie MMO on 360? Yes Please

Massively Multiplayer Online games (MMOs) have been popular on both PC and console platforms, although the PC market has proven more lucrative and easier to develop for. So far this generation we are still waiting for a decent entry in the MMO genre, although Final Fantasy XIV and The Secret World both look promising. When we heard that an unknown development studio from Seattle called Undead Labs was working on a zombie-themed MMO, we were understandably skeptical. Due tot he incredible amount of content, code and infrastructure needed to launch a successful massively multiplayer game, small studios are at a definite disadvantage. However our skepticism might have been misplaced, because this new studio is headed up by industry veteran Jeff Strain.

Strain has a lot of very significant MMO games under his belt, having worked as a programmer and project lead on numerous hit games. In the mid-nineties while Strain was at Blizzard Entertainment, he was a programmer for StarCraft and Diablo and created the StarCraft campaign editor. In 1999 Strain formed the initial team and kicked off development on the wildly successful MMO World of Warcraft while taking on the roles of team lead and lead programmer on the project. In April 2000, Strain founded ArenaNet with fellow Blizzard leads Mike O'Brien and Patrick Wyatt where he served as programmer and executive producer for the popular MMO franchise Guild Wars, which has sold more than six million units worldwide.

According to Strain, Undead Labs' sole focus will be to create the definitive massively multiplayer online zombie game (MMOZ) for console gamers. As a company spokesperson put in a press release, "Nothing screams funny quite like wading into a group of rotting zombies with a lawn chair and a box of sharpened HB pencils, and nothing says fun quite like doing it with your friends, whether online or on your sofa. Undead Labs is committed to bringing to life an MMO loaded with action, humour and, of course, a lot of zombies, because the world doesn't any need more dragons."

Jeff Strain, founder of Undead Labs, has got braaaaaaaaaaiiiiiins.