Warner Bros. has told MCV that it is readying an industry-leading approach to movie-based games with the digital download-only release of Watchmen next year.

Watchmen, the film based on the cult comic books, is due out in March next year, with the game set to take place before the events of the film. It will be released in multiple episodes on Xbox Live, PSN and PC.

“The episodic game will have the look of a full retail game, but will be shorter in length,” commented Warner Bros’ senior vice president of development and production Samantha Ryan.

“We wanted to provide a compelling experience and felt a shorter, more focused game was the right approach. We like the idea of being innovative and industry-leaders by taking a fresh approach to movie tie-ins.

“It’s tough to say which properties will work best in the digital space. We’re hoping fans of the film and the graphic novel will respond well to our unique approach. We know it’s risky for us, and the safe move would have been to cram out a retail game alongside the film release, but we didn’t feel that was the right decision.”

Ryan also hinted that if it’s successful, more download-only titles could be on the cards: “This is an experimental effort,” added Ryan. “We hope gamers respond. If so, it’s quite possible this is an approach we’ll take to future films.”