Scribblenauts Dev 5th Cell Debuting On Console With Hybrid For XBLA

Independent developer 5th Cell this week announced the Xbox Live Arcade game Hybrid, a sci-fi departure from its million-selling kid-friendly Nintendo DS game Scribblenauts. Hybrid will be 5th Cell's console debut, as the studio has created games for PC, mobile and DS. The studio, founded in 2003, is also behind Lock's Quest and Drawn to Life for DS. Hybrid is slated for a 2011 release. Little is know about Hybrid outside of scant information on a teaser website and a debut trailer, which shows a destroyed world with two warring factions, the Paladins and the Variants. The initial video implies shooter mechanics, but so far the studio hasn't revealed Hybrid's gameplay. The game is designed and directed by 5th Cell creative director Jeremiah Slaczka, who also directed Drawn to Life, the award-winning Scribblenauts, Lock's Quest and other 5th Cell titles. The studio's games have become known for emergent gameplay facilitated by giving players plenty of choice, and choice is a theme that's hinted at in Hybrid's early marketing materials. Last year, Slaczka hinted at the development of an Xbox Live Arcade title that is "going to be pretty big." In August, Slaczka said that the studio's next game would be based on Valve Software's Source engine, presumably the tech behind Hybrid.