In what is being viewed as a giant step in the acceptance of games by other media, Electronic Arts and Starz Media have announced that they will team up to create an animated prequel to the upcoming survival horror game Dead Space.

The movie, being developed by Film Roman — also behind the animation on the Simpsons and King of the Hill — is expected to be released before the game comes out on Halloween.

“We are really excited to be working with Film Roman to create an animated feature that will tell the portion of the Dead Space saga between the comic and game,” said Glen Schofield, Executive Producer for Dead Space. “With the video game, comic book and now animated movie, Dead Space has become a true multimedia brand. Each of these elements delivers the story to new audiences and tells it from different aspects and perspectives.”

The script for the Dead Space animated movie, focusing on the events of an alien infected, futuristic mining ship, picks up where the comic book left off and leads directly to the beginning of the game.

“Due to the richness and complexity of stories that have evolved for video games, they have become a type of entertainment that can span generations and provide fantastic inspiration for other forms of media; especially in the realm of animated features,” Film Roman President and COO Scott Greenberg said. “We’re particularly thrilled to be starting off with Dead Space.”

Dead Space, which will be the first of at least three features based on EA titles, will first air on the Starz network, then be released via DVD and digital distribution.