J. J. Abrams’ new spy game collaboration with Chair Entertainment is a title and not much else yet

Apparently J.J. Abrams isn’t satisfied by teasing the Internet with just Star Wars: The Force Awakens clips.

The writer, TV show creator, and director released a video of an interview he did with Donald Mustard, of Chair Entertainment (the maker of the Infinity Blade series). The video announces a 2016 spy game that Abrams and the developer are collaborating on, called Spyjinx.

The announcement comes up very, very short on details. Chair’s Donald Mustard throws out a smattering of genre terms when asked what sort of game it is, saying:

A unique blend between…an action strategy game mixed with…dynamic world building with a healthy dose of RPG character development…”

It’s a vague answer, even for an early announcement. The lack of images or overarching story contours in the video underline how little Mustard gives with the answer.

It’s a vague answer, even for an early announcement. The lack of images or overarching story contours in the video underline how little Mustard gives with the answer.

Abrams tries to head off this concern by essentially saying that Spyjinx will transcend normal genre definitions.

It will really need to be experienced…it will be by what it is, as opposed to saying “it’s exactly like that”.

Much easier said than done, but occasionally games do transcend simple genre definitions. The question at hand is whether Abrams’ storytelling talent, combined with Chair’s knowledge of video game development, can give us a truly unique title.

Abrams and Mustard seem to think yes, and they also seem to believe that fans of Abrams will follow a game they know nothing about because his name is attached to it.

For now, what we do know from the video is that the Spyjinx beta will be coming out in 2016, for PC and mobile.