Timonium, Maryland-based developer Big Huge Games (Rise of Nations, Legends) has announced the hiring of Morrowind and Oblivion lead designer Ken Rolston to create a to-be-announced RPG for the company.

A 25 year industry veteran, Rolston's credits extend beyond his work in video game sphere with Bethesda on the Elder Scrolls series to pen and paper RPGs such as Paranoia and RuneQuest. The move brings Rolston out of the retirement he announced in May of 2006.

Founded in 2000 by a number of ex-Firaxis developers and designers whose credits include Alpha Centauri and Civilization II, Big Huge Games has most recently been developing a conversion of tabletop strategy game Catan for Xbox Live Arcade, coming in the first quarter of 2007.

“A chance to work on a Big Huge Game with Big Huge Games? Who could resist?” said Rolston. “I had planned to retire and rest on my laurels after Oblivion, but Tim and his army of visionary charmers came along with a strikingly original and cunning concept for a console RPG…so now I’m back in the harness and chomping at the bit!”

Added Big Huge Games president Tim Train, “Ken’s addition marks a bold new direction for Big Huge Games. We remain committed to creating real-time strategy games such as past hits Rise of Nations and Rise of Legends. At the same time, we’ve explored developing a role-playing game for several years now. Ken is a fantastic fit for us on every level, and gives us the leadership we need to be confident of success in our new venture.”