File this one under: I couldn't make this up if I tried (nor would I want to).

Game Shastra (apparently India's largest game services provider, whatever that means) has signed a deal with Freeze Tag (a Californian casual games pub and dev) to make an Etch A Sketch game. It will start with PC, Mac, and web versions and possibly make its way to XBLA.

Huh?

They've totally lost me at this point, so I'll just refer you to the press release while I quietly shake my head.

Full Press Release after the break. Now with added emphasis for easy skimming!

[via Destructoid]

Game Shastra, India’s largest game services provider has signed a Master Game Development Agreement with Freeze Tag, a California based casual game publisher and developer. Game Shastra will develop and Freeze Tag will publish “Etch A Sketch(R),” a new game inspired by the classic toy from The Ohio Art Company. Under the terms of the agreement, Game Shastra will develop PC, Web, and Mac versions of the game, as well as any future versions for platforms such as Xbox 360 Live Arcade and Nintendo Wii.

Craig Holland, CEO of Freeze Tag says, “We have worked with many offshore developers, and Game Shastra is the first company that has truly ‘exported’ US game development expertise and management to its offshore operation, while still maintaining a US onshore staff in key developer roles. Game Shastra’s talented and experienced management team and competitive pricing were attractive features, but the main reason we picked Game Shastra to develop our high-value licenses was simply the opportunity to work with a really great game development team.”

Prakash Ahuja, CEO, of Game Shastra, says “We think Freeze Tag as a publisher has great vision for identifying good titles. It has chosen some very exciting and unique licenses that we hope to develop jointly under this partnership.” Ahuja continues, “This agreement with Freeze Tag reiterates our position as a leading global game services provider for both Core and Casual games.”

Game Shastra’s worldwide customer base has been expanding rapidly as it offers richer, faster and more efficient game services to game publishers globally. “At Game Shastra we provide a very flexible project environment for our customers for game development, game art and game testing in a single location which is very difficult to pull off on-shore, besides offering competitive development costs leading to shorter development timelines and higher quality products,” Bjorn Book-Larsson, CTO and VP of Game Development, Game Shastra, said. “Our presence in Los Angeles provides quick response to our customers, and keeps us tightly integrated throughout the entire project.”