Hopefully, this will translate into a game that feels even more authentic to the series it’s based on. With previous journeys into fantasy and superhero genres, the upcoming South Park game can capture the magic of the past games while also carrying the unrestricted mayhem the show and prior South Park movies have gotten away with. As a completely in-house project, Matt Stone and Trey Parker should have much more freedom over how far they can push the humor and traditional video game mechanics, which they’ve shown a great capability for.
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No Need for Compromise
When an established IP like South Park gets a game adaptation, it can often come with a few hoops that the creators have to jump through. This often involves a certain level of compromise, and in the case of The Fractured But Whole developers had to take the time to make sure the jokes would satisfy everyone up and down the production chain. Normally in the show and movies SP Studios have made, it has only had to satiate Parker and Stone. One cited instance is the original title of the game being “The Butthole of Time,” being deemed unsellable by Ubisoft.
However, the previous two games were published by Ubisoft and that gave it almost complete control over them. Ubisoft also had major control over the profits of the games, and while Stone and Parker were likely paid fairly, Ubisoft was the one footing the bill in the first place after the first game’s developer, THQ, went bankrupt in 2012. According to an interview with The Fractured But Whole senior producer Jason Schroeder, Ubisoft even made him the guy who had to turn down some of Stone and Parker’s requests.
By being able to develop the game at South Park Studios, they’ll be much less constrained in the type of humor and mockery they can do within the game.
Funding in Place
It helps Parker and Stone that South Park is relatively inexpensive to create, although the budget is likely much higher now than it used to be. Even still, given they already own the likenesses of their characters and everything else, they’ve already saved that much money. Cash flow likely won’t be an issue on the next South Park game, because Viacom has made the funds readily available to the team at South Park Studios to begin working on the title whenever the creators are good and ready. Having a good supply of cash that’s set aside will help keep production smooth.
For fans of South Park, this is welcome news that may come as a surprise to those who thought they were lucky to get the two most recent games from the series. The news that the IP creators are getting full creative control over the game should mean even more, as it will allow them to create something that goes further than they were ever able to with Ubisoft.
A South Park game is in development.
MORE: New South Park Video Game Confirms Developer
