Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment will publish WATCHMEN, an episodic downloadable game based on the upcoming Warner Bros. Pictures’ film for the Xbox 360, PS3 and Windows PC in 2009.

The game captures the action and intrigue of the Watchmen feature film, directed by Zack Snyder, who previously helmed the blockbuster 300. The screenplay for Watchmen is by David Hayter and Alex Tse, based on the award-winning graphic novel illustrated by Dave Gibbons and published by DC Comics. The film is produced by Lawrence Gordon (Die Hard), Lloyd Levin (United 93) and Deborah Snyder (300), with Herbert W. Gains (The Brave One) and Thomas Tull (The Dark Knight) serving as executive producers. Watchmen is a presentation of Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures in association with Legendary Pictures.

A complex, multi-layered mystery adventure, Watchmen will take us to the brink of destruction. In alternate 1985 America – in which costumed superheroes are not only real but have ultimately been outlawed – one former hero goes looking for the truth behind the murder of one of his own, but uncovers a devastating conspiracy to drag the world implacably closer to its own end.

Playing the film’s core group of “masks,” the masked adventurers at the center of the story, are Malin Akerman (The Heartbreak Kid), Billy Crudup (The Good Shepherd), Matthew Goode (Match Point), Carla Gugino (Night at the Museum), Oscar nominee Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children), Stephen McHattie (Shoot ‘em Up), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (TV’s Grey’s Anatomy), and Patrick Wilson (Little Children).

“We’re bringing the Watchmen universe to gamers in a distinct episodic game revealing action and combat for a great overall experience for fans,” said Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President, Production and Development, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “The filmmakers have been extremely helpful in developing the high-quality game story and we are working to match the outstanding visual style of the film.”

The videogame based on WATCHMEN will go beyond the film and delve into the characters, rivalries and challenges in a mature action-brawler. The game provides gamers with visceral superhero combat as urban vigilantes Rorschach and Nite Owl.