“Futurama,” the critically lauded sci-fi spoof from Matt Groening that aired on TV for seven seasons, will be turned into a brand-new mobile game in collaboration with the many of the show’s original writers, cast and animators.
“Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow” will feature original content from creator and executive producer Groening, executive producer David X. Cohen, and much of the team behind the TV series. The game’s developer, Jam City’s TinyCo division, also is working with Rough Draft Studios, the original animators of “Futurama,” promising to bring the show’s humor and visual style to the title.
“I love this game because it feels just like ‘Futurama.’ Except now you get to jab the characters in the face,” Groening, who is most famous for creating “The Simpsons,” said in a statement. Added Cohen: “‘Futurama’ is back, bigger and better than ever! Or possibly smaller and equally good. But either way, it’s back!”
The game is being developed by TinyCo under a pact with 20th Century Fox’s Fox Interactive division and and Groening’s Curiosity Co. The companies did not announce a release date or other details about the game, saying additional info will be revealed soon. TinyCo, which Jam City (formerly known as SGN) acquired last year, has previously worked with Fox Interactive on “Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff.”
It’s not the first mobile-game spinoff of the cult favorite. “Futurama: Game of Drones,” which was first released in late 2015, is a match-four puzzle game created by German casual-games developer Wooga under a pact with Fox.
“Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow” will be available in Apple’s App Store, Google Play, and the Amazon Appstore. Fans can pre-register to get notifications about the game at YouWillPlayFuturama.com. TinyCo, founded in 2009, is the company behind the popular “Marvel Avengers Academy” game in partnership with Marvel Entertainment.
The original half-hour “Futurama” aired on Fox from 1999-2003, then was picked up by Comedy Central in 2009 for two more seasons before ending its run on the cabler in 2013. The show revolves around pizza-delivery guy Philip J. Fry (voiced by Billy West) who accidentally freezes himself on Dec. 31, 1999. After waking up 1,000 years later, he lands a job with intergalactic-delivery company Planet Express, where he meets a variety of human and nonhuman characters, including cyclops mutant and love interest Leela (Katey Sagal) and kleptomaniac robot Bender (John DiMaggio).
