EA Publishing Shank and DeathSpank For Multiple Consoles

Get ready for a double dose of bloody goodness.  Electronic Arts has struck a deal with the teams at Klei and Hothead Games to publish their up-and-coming digital download games, the action-packed Shank and the zombie killer Ron Gilbert's DeathSpank, the latest project from the creator of the Secret of Monkey Island series.  The company didn't give official release dates for the games, but it did confirm that Shank would arrive this summer, and DeathSpank would follow in late 2010.

Both games were previously seen at the Penny Arcade Expo and were big hits.  Shank, in fact, is a finalist for Excellence In Visual Art at this year's Independent Game Festival.

"Our mission at EA Partners is to work with the best talent across the game industry, and we are thrilled to extend our expertise to the leading creative developers in downloadable indie games,” said Jamil Moledina, Outreach Director, Business Development at EA Partners. “The team at Klei Entertainment is among the best in the world at developing fun and engaging titles for digital distribution platforms, andShank is an amazing experience."

Jamil continued with DeathSpank, "The team at Hothead Games is a perfect fit for EA Partners. "They are a great example of how the EA Partners program continues to emphasize the importance of building strong relationships with the world’s top indie developers.  DeathSpank is an engrossingly fun and hysterically funny experience, and we are all excited to have the opportunity to help introduce DeathSpank to gamers across the world."

The developers chimed in as well.  “As an independent development studio, we always focus on creating great, authentic experiences for players. Working with EA Partners expands our distribution and allows us to bring Shank to a much wider audience,” said Jamie Cheng, CEO of Klei Entertainment. “They have been a fantastic partner and their understanding of the space is incredibly exciting."

Ian Wilkinson, CEO of Hothead Games added, “We are proud of our independence, but are very excited to be working with EA Partners on a title as big as DeathSpank. With EA Partners handling distribution and marketing, Hothead can continue to focus on what we do best, making great games.”  (You can find out more in this interview with IndustryGamers.)

We're very pleased to hear this news, and look forward to covering Shank and DeathSpank in the months ahead.  Hopefully they'll show up next week at GDC.

Check out more screenshots -- and the official DeathSpank trailer -- below!