Lionsgate has invested in game developer and publisher Telltale Games as part of the studio's content diversification initiative.

The investment will continue the extension of Lionsgate's film and television brands into the game space and bring Lionsgate's expertise in creating and marketing content to Telltale's unique storytelling approach to gaming. 

Lionsgate and Telltale will explore opportunities to co-develop existing and original IP into episodic games and television. Lionsgate is the studio behind a number of top franchises including "Mad Men," "Orange is the New Black," Divergent and The Hunger Games, while Telltale has created games for top properties including "The Walking Dead" and "Game of Thrones."

"Telltale is one of the premier storytellers in the gaming world today," says Jon Feltheimer, chief executive officer, Lionsgate. "Their leadership in narrative-driven episodic games, together with our investment and the potential opportunities created by our premium content expertise, will continue to strengthen their ability to offer exciting new avenues of storytelling to their next generation audiences across a broad range of platforms."

As part of its investment, Feltheimer will join the Telltale board of directors. Veteran gaming executive John Riccitiello, formerly CEO of Electronic Arts and Unity Technologies, will also join the Telltale board.

In a separate announcement, Telltale also announced a new partnership with fellow game developer Mojang to create "Minecraft: Story Mode," which will premiere later this year. The narrative-driven game will be inspired by the world of "Minecraft" and will be released episodically, with the first episode set to debut on consoles and mobile systems this year.