Universal Wins Film Rights to Unannounced EA Game

If the news coming out of Hollywood this morning is any indication, dealing with Electronic Arts really is like making a deal with the devil … or rather, making a deal for the devil. Last week, Variety reported rumors that five major film studios were bidding on the film rights to an unannounced, upcoming EA game based off of the first part of Dante Alighieri’s classic poem, The Divine Comedy … better known as “Dante’s Inferno”. Now the outlet is reporting that a potential seven figure deal has been reached between EA and Universal which will give the movie studio the film rights to the new property.

In the original story, written in the early 14th Century, Dante describes a journey through the nine levels of Hell, guided along his path by the Roman poet Virgil. Along the way, Dante encounters all manner of “sinners” who are struggling with their eternal punishments. Dante and Virgil continue their journey through each level of Hell, before ultimately coming face to face with Satan. While the poem itself has endured through many a literature class for roughly 700 years, word has it that EA plans to update the tale more than just a little bit to appeal to the gaming audience.

This isn’t the first time Universal and EA have decided to work together on a project. In fact, it was just two weeks ago that the two companies announced that they would be working together to bring the EA shooter Army of Two to the big screen. Meanwhile, Electronic Arts is keeping any information about the Dante’s Inferno game tightly under wraps.