Kickstarter has been tremendous for classic game designers, people with celebrated games who for one reason or another haven't been able to get their games funded by the major publishers. Without that hurdle to deal with designers flocked to the website to crowdfund new entries in the genres they become famous for, and one of the most exciting of the bunch was the triumphant return of Jane Jensen with Moebius: Empire Rising. The celebrated Gabriel Knight designer has been was able to secure funding to start up her own indie studio called Pinkerton Road in April 2012 and immediately got to work on a new game in the genre she knows so well- point-and-click adventure games.
Now we have word that the studio has a publisher in the newly formed Phoenix Online Publishing, an indie publishing division from Phoneix Phoenix Online Studios, creators of adventure games like Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller and Face Noir. They've also announced a release date of April 15th for the game on PC and Mac, with Linux, iPad and Android editions coming later.
"After two years in development, I'm excited to bring Moebius: Empire Rising to market," said Jane Jensen in a statement. "I've worked closely with Phoenix throughout development, and I know they love this game as much as I do. I'm pleased to have them handling the publishing end so I can focus on writing and designing more games."
This is the first adventure game from Jane Jensen since 2010's Gray Matter and the first she's been completely of charge of since the classic Gabriel Knight 3: Bood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned way back in 1999.
The official synopsis from the game: "In Moebius: Empire Rising, players will step into the shoes of Malachi Rector, a high-end antiquities dealer with a photographic memory, a genius for history, and an uncanny talent for discerning genuine artifacts from cheap knock-offs. At the request of a secretive government agency, Malachi flies to Venice to determine whether a recently-murdered woman resembles any particular figure in history. Why would the U.S. government offer him $50,000 to perform this odd job? Why does a stranger he meets randomly in the desert seem like someone he's known all his life? And how come every time Malachi lets down his guard, someone tries to kill him?"
"In the layered mystery of Moebius: Empire Rising, players will travel the globe with Malachi and his bodyguard, former special forces operative David Walker, to analyze suspects, make historical connections, and piece together clues to uncover a conspiracy the U.S. government and other covert agencies will defend at any cost. A modern adventure game styled in the vein of recent Sherlock Holmes and James Bond thrillers, it merges classic point-and-click puzzle solving with Malachi's unique deductive powers and the sophisticated storytelling Jensen's games are known for."
Sounds great. To acquaint yourself with Jensen's genius I suggest you play through the Gabriel Knight series if you haven't already- they're readily available on GOG.com and still hold up, with dark, mature storylines unlike anything else before (or really since). You can learn more about Moebius: Empire Rising at https://www.moebiusthegame.com.
