Wing Commander, Freelancer creator making another space sim

The creator of Wing Commander and Freelancer is headed back into the black with an unannounced project after years in the film industry. Chris Roberts spoke with GameSpot about his new space sim project to be unveiled October 10 at Game Developers Conference Austin, and why he felt now was the time to get back into games.

"I want to get back to the roots of what I did in the old days with Wing Commander, which was, if you've got a really badass PC, this is going to show it off," Roberts said. While he stressed graphical progress as a key to his game's immersion, he also said modern online connectivity will allow its players to interact on a scale never achieved in any of his previous projects.

The game's website implies to registered users that the project will be developed over the next 24 months, and Roberts confirmed to GameSpot that he has secured private investing and has no plans to partner with external publishers. GameSpot also hosts an exclusive (very brief) teaser video, embedded below.

Roberts said he is drawn to create intricate worlds and immersive storylines, and he believes gaming technology has finally come to the point where he can properly convey that interactively.

"I don't want to do a mobile game. I don't want to do a social game. I'd shoot myself. And I know people are getting paid to do it, but I like to do these big splashy, jaw-to-the-ground … get-lost-in-the-fantasy-of-it-all [type of games]."