A financial deal between Twilight movie studio Lionsgate and Telltale Games will see the companies co-develop ‘Super Shows’ – titles that are part TV, part game.

Variety is reporting that Lionsgate has invested US$40m in The Walking Dead game creator to make the project a reality.

In return, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer will join Telltale’s board of directors.

Telltale’s first original IP will be a Super Show, which Telltale CEO Kevin Bruner described as one part of interactive playable content and one part of scripted television style content.

Each Super Show episode – both the interactive game and the scripted part – will be released as a package designed to be consumed game or TV portion first.

“Both pieces, when combined together, are what make an actual Super Show ‘episode’,” Bruner told Entertainment Weekly.

“As we’ve been developing the series, we’re using both mediums in concert to deliver our story. Developing both aspects simultaneously is key to utilising this new medium. Both parts are first class citizens during the writing and design process.

“It’s not an interactive series with a show, or a TV show with a game, but a story integrated in a way that only Telltale can do. For us it’s a very natural evolution of the interactive story telling expertise we’ve pioneered.”

The goal is to create products that have a legitimate chance of winning both a Golden Globe and a Game of the Year, Bruner said.

In related news, Telltale Games has also announced the appointment of former Electronic Arts CEO and current Unity Technologies CEO John Riccitiello to the company's Board of Directors.

"Jon Feltheimer and John Riccitiello have decades of experience delivering premium entertainment to audiences everywhere," said Bruner.

"This is a time of explosive growth and opportunity for our company, and I'm thrilled to have these industry giants join us as we continue to define exceptional interactive scripted entertainment."

Lionsgate is one of the most innovative, entrepreneurial, and impressive content companies in the world, Bruner added.

“I’m delighted to welcome an experienced executive like Jon, a leader who shares our unique vision, to our board. This partnership will accelerate Telltale’s ability to create not only original games, but episodic television series based on our game properties – an area at the cutting edge of industry growth.

"This is a time of explosive growth and opportunity for our company, and I'm thrilled to have these industry giants join us as we continue to define exceptional interactive scripted entertainment."