Aardman Animations Working On 3D Action-Adventure Open-World Game

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Wallace And Gromit
Image: Aardman Animations

Aardman Animations, the UK-based studio behind Wallace and Gromit, appears to be making big moves towards developing their new game, following their 2020 deal with Bandai Namco to create a new IP. As spotted by TechRadar, several new job listings on the company’s website have given us a little insight into what the game will be.

“We’re working on an incredible, brand-new IP with a major publisher,” says the job description for Level and Narrative Designer. The description also mentions that they have a working prototype that they will use to inform the game as a whole, and that the aim is to create a “3D action-adventure” set in a “mad, open world”, with a cast of “amazing, hilarious, surprising and varied characters”.

The game will be made in Unreal Engine 5 — Epic’s recent upgrade to the industry-standard UE4 — going from the desirable skills listed on the job descriptions. It looks like it’s destined for PS4, Xbox One, and Switch, as experience shipping titles for those platforms is also “desirable”.

The games studio is separate, but contained within Aardman Animations, describing itself as “employee owned” and independent. Their mission statement and values include “creative excellence, humour, openness, and collaboration”, as well as devotion to “a culturally diverse workforce” and “equality of opportunity”.

11-11: Memories Retold featured the voice of Elijah Wood
11-11: Memories Retold featured the voice of Elijah Wood (Image: Aardman Animations)

This is not Aardman’s first video game. They previously worked with DigixArt and Bandai Namco to develop 11-11: Memories Retold, an impressionistic third-person game telling the story of the WWII armistice through the perspective of both sides. They also collaborated on, but did not develop, video game adaptations of Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run. This new IP will be their first solo, in-house project.

Aardman Animations also announced today that they were working with Netflix on two new film projects: A new Wallace and Gromit movie due in 2024, and a sequel to Chicken Run called “Dawn of the Nugget” in 2023.

What do you hope to see from Aardman’s new IP game? Let us know in the comments.