Joss Whedon

Twentieth Century Fox has had its toe in the video game waters for some time now, but it appears the company is getting ready to dive in. The studio has named Andre Emerson as vice president of video game production.

Emerson is a former Vivendi Games exec producer who was behind the 50 Cent gaming franchise as well as the recently released “Wet”. He’s also the creator of the “Dead to Rights” franchise. At Fox, he’ll oversee the production of game projects based on the company’s significant TV and film library.

Fox has a slew of gamer friendly properties, including “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Family Guy” and the “Alien” and “Predator” franchises. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the company did have a publishing arm, but never managed to make a dent in the lead traditional publishers held, despite some fan favorite games. It reverted to a license only model in 1993.

Bringing aboard a veteran game maker like Emerson might signal a change in direction for the company. And if Fox is willing to invest some money in its games division, it could well turn out to be a significant player in the industry.

It won’t be without competition from another film company, though. While there are plenty of games based on Fox properties, the studio lags far behind Warner Bros. in the video game space.

Starting in 2004, Warner made a significant commitment to the space, acquiring developer Monolith Productions (and taking stakes in other game makers over the following years). Earlier this year, Warner bought the major assets of Midway Games, including the Mortal Kombat franchise and had a major hit with “Batman: Arkham Asylum”.

Disney, also, is actively building up its gaming division, most recently bringing on Alex Seropian, founder of Bungie Studios (creators of the “Halo” franchise) to to oversee creative development across its in-house video game development teams.

Media companies have increasingly shown an interest in the gaming space this year. Many analysts have speculated a studio might acquire an existing game publisher, but more and more, those studios are discovering it’s easier – and much less expensive – to cherry pick key talent and focus on their own existing intellectual properties.