Former Visceral Games Developer Opens New Studio

In an uplifting turn of events, a group of developers from the now defunct Visceral Games (EA’s Melbourne Studio) have banded together to create a brand new Aussie studio that makes mobile games.

When Visceral Games closed, game designer Gerry Sakkas was given the option to relocate to the US to continue working for EA, but instead chose to remain in Australia and start something himself. Contacting his former colleagues who were affected by the closure of Visceral, Sakkas formed the mobile games studio, Playside.

Sakkas says that the people he has brought on board have a wealth of game development experience that can enrich the mobile gaming space.

“The goal was to create a studio with people who were accustomed to aiming for AAA quality, take that talent, and tailor it to a mobile audience,” says Sakkas, who is the CEO of Playside.

“We believe our studio has something really special in the sense that we can create quality assets, characters, design and stories for any platform,” he says.

“The mobile space has always been a love of mine and, although some studios are doing it right, there are many that have got it terribly wrong. Some of the larger studios have simply taken their hit titles and slapped them onto a mobile platform, however this is not what mobile consumers want and it is the complete opposite of what we are setting out to do.

“We are all about making a completely tailored experience for the mobile platform, with the added quality and polish of a console game. Our biggest goals are to create unique and loveable characters and to make a real impact on the mobile games industry.”

The studio is based in Melbourne and is founded by Gerry Sakkas, Aaron Pasias, and Mark Goulopoulos. The studio will begin production on mobile games on January 16, 2012.

“The studio is ready to go bu I think the old EA staff deserve a well-earned Christmas break first!” says Sakkas.

You can learn more about Playside here and follow them on Facebook.