Treyarch receives licence to kill

Treyarch is working on Activision's first James Bond game, the publisher has confirmed.

The news came by way of a job posting, seeking a "gameplay designer" for what Treyarch describes as its "upcoming Bond title". Activision has since verified that the advert is genuine.

The job posting also indicates that the game will be targeted at next-generation formats.

The game is likely based on the forthcoming Casino Royale film, which will be actor Daniel Craig's first turn as the fictional British spy following Pierce Brosnan's decision to give up the role. The film is due out in the run-up to Christmas.

Activision announced that it had acquired the James Bond licence at the start of May. The deal with MGM Interactive and EON Productions gives Activision the right to develop and publish games based on the James Bond film licence until 2014, and is reputedly worth $70 million.

However, apart from a provocative "007" logo on display at E3 this year, the publisher has so far kept its mouth shut about Bond.

The news that Treyarch will be handling the publisher's first foray into the world of the British super-spy is hardly surprising though, as the developer's stock has grown considerably in recent years thanks to the likes of Call of Duty 2: Big Red One and Ultimate Spider-Man.

Treyarch is currently developing Call of Duty 3 for Activision.

The most James Bond games have been developed by Electronic Arts, but a series of high profile critical failures - including the universally panned GoldenEye: Rogue Agent - are thought to have led MGM and EON to reconsider their partnership.