For those curious as to why the upcoming Texas Chain Saw Massacre game is focusing on the original 1974 films, rather than some of the later movies, it all has to do with the current rights, as the studio recently took to addressing the community on this matter.
Taking to Twitter, Gun Interactive’s CEO Wes Keltner, clarified to fans, that while the studio is making a Texas Chain Saw Massacre game, the content they’re allowed to use is limited by the film rights they’ve been licensed.
Friendly reminder. We have the interactive rights to the 1974 film. We can’t put characters or locations in from other TX films because we don’t have those rights. Demanding we add them is not how Hollywood works. Licensing in general is usually a total mess.
My advice to you: Get hyped for what’s there. Tell everyone you know. Post on social, retweet, and discuss the game. In my experience Hollywood reacts to buzz, not demands.
When asked about how Mortal Kombat was able to get the rights to use Leatherface, here’s what Keltner had to say:
That’s one character not the full intellectual property. While still licensing it’s not exactly the same thing. You know?
A rather understandable reasoning, as from a legal perspective, as Keltner states, obtaining the rights to the other films could prove to be “messy.” Though despite these comments, it’s not at all entirely ruled out; it’s just only a matter of whether the hype is there and if Hollywood is willing to work further with the studio.
For clarity. I’m not saying it isn’t possible. I’m saying that we’re focused on the first film. That’s what we have the rights for, however in the future we can pursue the other films. Nothing is guaranteed. But the higher the hype, the more likely “Hollywood” picks up the phone.
Hopefully, this ends up being the case, as The Chainsaw Massacre game is looking surprisingly fun based on all the gameplay videos, and impressions given from other outlets. Guess we’ll find out come the release, which is happening on August 18 of this year for the PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.