Activision has announced the opening of Sledgehammer Games, a new studio that will be headed by former Visceral executives Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey.
Schofield and Condrey were formerly the general manager and chief operating officer, respectively, at the EA-owned studio Visceral Games, where they played prominent roles in the development of the award-winning game Dead Space, Schofield as executive producer and Condrey senior development director. The pair departed for the greener pastures of Activision in July and will assume the same roles at Sledgehammer that they held at Visceral.
āThis was an opportunity for us to assemble a world-class team made up of developers with a proven track record in delivering top-rated games,ā Schofield said. āWe know what it takes to develop a Game of the Year title, and we also know that the title needs the support of a strong publisher to make the game a success.ā
āActivision Blizzardās independent studio model is very empowering,ā added Condrey. āWe have a fantastic new studio facility, the foundation for a world-class team and the backing of the industryās most profitable game publisher. This was a rare opportunity we couldnāt pass up.ā
Itās hard to imagine that this isnāt a real kick in the ass for EA management. Not only did a couple of their top guys fly the coop for the competition, but theyāre launching a brand new studio to great fanfare the day after the floundering EA closed the doors at Pandemic. There is one potential upside, however; Sledgehammer is āactively recruitingā talent to work on its first, unannounced project, which could be a boon for a lot of EA employees left jobless by its recent troubles.
Published: Nov 18, 2009 9:02 PM UTC