Warner Bros, Monolith Productions, and EON Entertainment have announced that they are producing a massively multiplayer online game based on the blockbuster sci-fi film The Matrix and the film's upcoming sequels. The game will be a re-creation of the virtual world featured in the movie, and it will support tens of thousands of players in the same environment. It will combine elements of action adventure and character building in a persistent online world.

　　The game is being designed by Monolith, the studio that created No One Lives Forever and the Aliens Versus Predator action games, and EON Entertainment--a collaboration between Joel Silver, the films' producer, and Larry and Andy Wachowski, the films' creators. The game will be built on LithTech's Discovery system, an all-new game engine and set of tools specifically designed for massively multiplayer games.

　　"We know fans of the franchise are extremely dedicated and loyal and we intend to do everything we can to remain true to The Matrix, while providing them with the ultimate online gaming experience," said Jason Hall, CEO of Monolith.

　　The Matrix was released in 1999 by Warner Bros. Pictures and raked in more than $475 million worldwide. Sequels to the film, The Matrix: Reloaded and The Matrix: Revolutions, are scheduled for release in 2003. We'll post more information about the upcoming online game as it becomes available.

　　Infogrames' game based on The Matrix: Reloaded is in development at Shiny and is scheduled for release on the Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, and PC in May 2003.