Starz launched its first-ever social game, Spartacus: The Game, originally named Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, on Facebook in Jan. 2011. It has drawn approximately 4 million registered users and had more than 1.2 million monthly active users at its peak, according to the company. It did so well that Starz decided to follow it up with the second game, in which it made a bigger, but undisclosed investment.

"We are thrilled to present a teaser video of Spartacus: Vengeance The Game on Facebook in advance of the official game launch and the highly anticipated second season," Mara Winokur, senior vice president, digital media, business development and strategy, Starz Media and lead executive for Starz Digital Media, said. "The teaser video gives users a good overview of the new Spartacus: Vengeance The Game, which takes on a greater level of sophistication by adding new elements such as improved visuals, multi-fighter battles, a more robust game economy, advanced game progressions, and more varied strategic options."

As with the original game, Starz is partnering with Large Animal Games and their proprietary Toga application platform to develop the game. Toga is a full-featured social game infrastructure which dramatically reduces the time, cost and resource needs of social and mobile game developers. The platform also allows for cross-platform support for Facebook, Google+, iOS and Android.

Spartacus: Vengeance The Game will take the player, a recently escaped slave, outside of the arena to lead a band of warriors. Throughout the journey, the player will travel from Capua to Vesuvius, performing the same feats as Spartacus’ own warriors. The game is more than just action though as it tasks players to strategically take over Roman territories by equipping the army correctly and acquiring fighters. The player will also interact with characters from the television series.

Beginning January 20, Starz will sample the first full episode of Spartacus: Vengeances to fans on their facebook page and on-demand subscribers at various providers.