Ubi Soft recently announced that it has signed a five-year licensing deal with French company Dupuis Publishing to bring the world of the French comic book series Largo Winch to a video game. According to the deal, Ubi Soft will develop and publish a game that features adventure and stealth elements for the Microsoft Xbox in 2002.

　　The character is the ultimate hero, and his adventures are packed with action and suspense. In the beginning, Largo--a Yugoslavian orphan--is adopted by the world's wealthiest man, who is in search of an heir. When his adoptive father dies, the now 26-year-old Largo inherits the Winch Corporation, a financial consortium worth more than $10 billion. Drawn to the challenge of presiding over such a vast empire, Largo takes over for his father and plunges headfirst into a new, unexpectedly vicious world. According to Ubi Soft, the game is based in a setting of wealth and privilege, and it will include a significant financial element, resulting in a thought-provoking console game that mixes action and espionage elements.

　　Most of you probably won't be familiar with Largo Winch comic series, but it is created by Jean Van Hemme and artist Philippe Francq. Since its debut in 1990, it has become a massive success in France, selling some 2.3 million copies to date. A series of 26 TV episodes, for French television, has also been produced.

　　There's no word on a US release yet. Largo Winch will also be released for the Nintendo GameCube console.