When is The Walking Dead: Last Mile release date, and what actually is this new addition to Robert Kirkman’s TWD universe? If you’ve seen today’s announcement, both of those questions are probably rattling around in your head.
It may be the end of the road for the flagship The Walking Dead TV show, but there is plenty of (undead) life in the franchise yet. Fear The Walking Dead is coming back for season 8 – with a surprising returning character – and Tales from The Walking Dead is now in production as well.
Add to that the long awaited Rick Grimes movies, plus the spin-off starring Daryl and Carol set to launch in 2023 and, well, we won’t be short of zombie action any time soon.
And not only is the franchise big in the TV and comics world, but there have been several games based on it over the years as well – the most memorable being the series of story-led titles that came from Telltale Games (which were ultimately finished off by Kirkman’s Skybound company when Telltale hit problems).
Now another game of sorts is on the way. The Walking Dead: Last Mile has just been announced by Skybound Games, the gaming wing of Kirkman’s company, although this looks to be more than ‘just’ a game. And Skybound will be teaming up with several companies, including Facebook Gaming, to bring the project lurching to life.
Instead of a game, it seems we are in for something more akin to an interactive experience that will blend a TV show and a game into what sounds like a serialised sim. Keep on reading to learn more!
The Walking Dead: Last Mile release date
The Walking Dead: Last Mile release date will occur in Summer 2022, the developers have confirmed, and as soon as we have something more specific we will let you know.
Going by the western definition of summer, it seems logical to expect The Walking Dead: Last Mile to release in June, July or August this year. Perhaps we’ll learn more at E3 2022 in June.
What is The Walking Dead: Last Mile?
The Walking Dead: Last Mile has been described in the official announcement as “a massively interactive live event (MILE) launching this summer as a Facebook Gaming and Facebook Watch exclusive.”
But what does that actually mean? We know that Facebook Watch is a video-on-demand service owned by Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta company, but that doesn’t help us visualise how the gaming part of this project will manifest. Could we be making decisions in a game on Facebook that impacts how the series plays out?
The the official announcement from Skybound Games goes on to describe The Walking Dead: Last Mile like so: “Part game, part interactive television show, TWD:LM will immerse participants around the globe in the universe of The Walking Dead in new and unparalleled ways”.
This interactive experience will apparently put “the all-new TWD:LM story and protagonists in the hands of the players as the saga unfolds minute-by-minute, day-by-day, week-by-week.”
What has Robert Kirkman said about The Walking Dead: Last Mile?
Robert Kirkman attends the 100th episode celebration off “The Walking Dead” at The Greek Theatre on October 22, 2017 in Los Angeles, California (Getty, HF)
The Walking Dead mastermind Robert Kirkman said about the ambitious project, “We’re thrilled to unveil this new MILE experience that will take place in The Walking Dead universe, where fans can play games and influence this new world and its inhabitants as a community.
“With The Walking Dead: Last Mile, audience members can stream a living, breathing world of The Walking Dead, working collectively and individually to impact the story at every turn. We’re excited to collaborate with our partners Genvid and Facebook to bring this pioneering vision to life.”
Genvid Entertainment, Facebook Gaming and Skybound Entertainment have teamed up with simulation developer Pipeworks Studios on the project that will feature all-new stories and characters. But while they will be the ones facing the walkers, or whatever moniker this group give them, the players are ultimately in control of the saga.
It does sound like an intriguing project and we’ll be keeping tabs on it to bring you the latest as soon as we hear it.
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