Following yesterday's flurry of news about the status of the Oz game, Enlight announces that designer American McGee has joined their ranks, in a release that only refers to the Oz project as a film trilogy. There's a conversation with American on IGN concerning the move, and here's the official announcement:

Enlight, a leading entertainment software developer and publisher, announced today a partnership with gaming visionary American McGee. Founder of the independent game design and consulting firm TMIEC, McGee has signed on to be Enlight's creative director. Praised for his unique design talents by publications ranging from PC Gamer to Rolling Stone, American McGee developed Alice, a darker gothic version of the Lewis Carroll children's tale Alice in Wonderland and American McGee's Oz, a film trilogy currently being developed by Disney Films and Jerry Bruckheimer.

"American McGee is one of the most gifted designers in the interactive entertainment and computer games industries," said Trevor Chan, chief executive officer of Enlight. "Together, we will seek out other talented designers and as a publisher, encourage and nourish their creative freedoms instead of squelching them. This is a major step forward for Enlight. Working directly with American McGee has been a goal of mine for some time."

Over the last year, Enlight has signed a number of unique and talented developers including Infinite Interactive, Egosoft and Haemimont Games. Critics praised Egosoft's X2: The Threat as a game that "redefined the space-trading genre." Haemimont Games' historical RTS epic Nemesis of the Roman Empire and Infinite Interactive's Warlords Battlecry 3 are due out soon.

"Trevor Chan has developed one of the most impressive independent development and publishing houses in the industry," said American McGee. "His attention to detail and creative genius were shown with hit computer game brands like Capitalism, Seven Kingdoms, and Restaurant Empire. Together, we will send a very strong message to the market that Enlight is a home for design teams and game creators that want a publisher who will support and encourage their talents."