Quote:Jagged Alliance plans alive at Strategy First
Despite closing its Ottawa studio, which was made up of former members of Sirtech, the Canadian publisher still has plans for the acclaimed turn-based tactical franchise.

In December, Strategy First closed the Ottawa studio that was working on a successor to the Jagged Alliance series, a franchise which Strategy First acquired from Interplay early last year. The closure of the publisher's only external studio came about after several of its 2002 games sold fewer than expected copies. A Strategy First representative said that the closure took place amicably and that all the Ottawa employees were offered jobs in its Montreal headquarters. Five took up the offer and are moving to Montreal.

The Ottawa studio was formed primarily from members of Sirtech Canada, which created the acclaimed Wizardry 8 and Jagged Alliance 2 and was independently working on sequels to both games until the middle of 2001. Strategy First acknowledged that the Ottawa studio was in fact working on a new Jagged Alliance game, and that the publisher still holds the rights to the franchise. Strategy First has made an effort to put other publishers in contact with Sirtech, which is led by Ian Currie, in an effort to keep the team together.

Strategy First had high hopes for a strong successor to Jagged Alliance, and there are still tentative plans to keep the project alive. It hasn't been decided if the project will be developed internally or by an external studio, or if the former Sirtech team will be involved with the further development of the game. There are no plans to make an announcement on the franchise's future until concrete plans have been put in motion.