PlayStation's Shuhei Yoshida and Greg Rice will present the headlining keynote at the Develop: Brighton gaming expo in July, it's been confirmed. A conference designed for game developers, the two indie experts will host the «Supporting Indies and Creativity in Game Development» keynote in Brighton, UK on 11th July 2024.
UK dev Atomicom reinvented as Starlight Games to focus on new IP
23.04.2024 - 08:43 / gamesindustry.biz
Former Psygnosis developer Gary Nichols has formed a new studio, Starlight Games.
Based in Liverpool, the team had previously been working as Atomicom since 2010.
"We decided we wanted a fresh new studio focused on creating our own IP, so Starlight Games was born," founder and CEO Gary Nichols tells GamesIndustry.biz.
Representatives said Starlight was formed as a different company because new investment was landed to focus on building a team around new IP, moving away from its previous specialty as a work-for-hire studio.
The Atomicom name was therefore abandoned for the studio to reinvent itself as Starlight Games. Atomicom will still exist on paper, to fulfil a historic IP deal and for VGTR reasons, but the whole team moved over to work under the new Starlight banner, and is still operating from the same office in Liverpool as well.
In addition to Nichols, the Starlight founding team includes new hires production designer Ben Cronin (Gamesco, Openbox Gaming), design director Nick Burcombe (Psygnosis, Playrise), and game director Andy Santos (PortalOne, co-creator of Skate).
"We already had a core team in place and wanted to build on this with our great relationships, experience, and history and make sure we had the right talent internally, as well as those we work with as contractors who feel the same as we do," Nichols explains. "We have worked to bring in many new people and offer them a great place to work and ability to help us move forward and build this new studio."
He continues: "We are a tight team, and we have ambitions on the games we want to create, which are fun and diverse, and we want to also embrace new talent within the studio across different roles, helping give the new generation of passionate game developers a chance to get into the games industry."
Starlight currently has several games in development, including House of Golf 2, a successor to its own 2019 title released under the Atomicom name, and a couple new IPs including a "futuristic" sports game led by Burcombe, and a "rogue-like science fiction strategy simulation management game."
This includes involving young talent in the development process. For example, Starlight Games are currently working with a group of students who are leading projects using Epic's Unreal Editor for Fortnite.
"We work closely with a local university to give students a place to learn and excel at while they do their final year of their degree," Nichols says. "All have gone on to [graduate] and many are now in the games industry including a good number that are on our team.
"A few of our new local recruits are already taking on a lot of responsibility and showing how talented they are. We have one young team member that's leading a tech change brought about
The website gametalkz.com is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.
Top Authors
Popular Topics
gamesindustry.biz
02.05.2024 / 10:23
Take-Two reportedly shuts down Roll7 and Intercept Games, Private Division suffers layoffs
More details have emerged about the ongoing layoffs at Take-Two Interactive, with reports suggesting the publisher has shut down two indie-size studios.
gamerant.com
01.05.2024 / 21:55
Co-Op Shooter Game With 'Very Positive' Reviews Coming to Xbox on May 31
Hypercharge: Unboxed is finally coming to Xbox consoles on May 31. The shooter, set in a world of toy soldiers, has been slated to receive an Xbox console release after the viral Hypercharge craze from a couple of years ago, and it seems that time has finally come.
ign.com
01.05.2024 / 12:15
Helldivers 2 Dev to Patch the Eruptor After Community Investigation Reveals Ricochet and Shrapnel Issue
Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has issued a statement on recent changes to the way ricochet works in the game after members of the community pointed out one weapon in particular was killing players more than it should.
digitaltrends.com
25.04.2024 / 16:49
Tribeca Games 2024 will feature 7 games and a Final Fantasy 7 panel
The Tribeca Festival returns this June, and it will once again feature official games selections and even a game-focused panel. This year, the selections are all promising indie games, including a successor to 2021’s excellent Before Your Eyes. The show will also feature a talk on the making of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
gamerant.com
25.04.2024 / 16:00
Granblue Fantasy: Relink Reveals New Content for Updates 1.2.0 and 1.3.0
Cygames has detailed the new content coming in updates 1.2.0 and 1.3.0 of Granblue Fantasy: Relink. In addition to adding two new characters to the robust cast of Granblue Fantasy: Relink, the updates bring improvements to existing characters, bug fixes, and new quest additions.
ign.com
25.04.2024 / 15:57
Tribeca Festival To Feature Playable Demos for 7 Upcoming Indie Games; Making of Final Fantasy VII Panel
Today the Tribeca Festival, which recognizes achievement across various entertainment mediums, announced their games lineup for 2024.
rockpapershotgun.com
24.04.2024 / 20:31
Former Fable devs reveal a new co-op RPG, then announce its development is on hold amid layoffs
The developers behind Fable card game spin-off Fable Fortune and the digital adaptation of dungeon-crawling board game Gloomhaven have revealed a new upcoming co-op RPG… only to announce at the same time that the upcoming game’s development has been put on pause amid layoffs at the studio and difficulty finding funding.
videogameschronicle.com
23.04.2024 / 14:21
‘It’s been really painful’: Ex-Lionhead devs explain why they’ve announced, and shelved, a new game
An independent UK developer says it’s been forced to announce and postpone its game on the same day, and lay off more than half of its staff, due to the sharp downturn in investment in the games industry.
gadgets.ndtv.com
23.04.2024 / 09:11
Star Wars Jedi Survivor Hits Xbox Game Pass via EA Play on April 25, Spotted on EA Play on PS5 in Some Regions
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the action-adventure title from Respawn Entertainment, is heading to EA Play subscription service. The game is confirmed to be available on the service via Xbox and PC Game Pass starting April 25. Additionally, Jedi: Survivor has been spotted as being included with the EA Play subscription on PlayStation Store in some regions. The acclaimed Star Wars title is joining EA's subscription service almost exactly a year after its release across PC, PS5 and Xbox Series S/X.
videogameschronicle.com
23.04.2024 / 08:20
Wipeout co-creator making futuristic sports title at new studio Starlight Games
Wipeout co-creator Nick Burcombe is making a futuristic sports title at a new development studio called Starlight Games.
pushsquare.com
23.04.2024 / 08:05
Ex-Psygnosis, WipEout, Skate Devs Announce New Studio Starlight Games | Push Square
Starlight Games is a brand new, UK-based development studio, and it has some real video game veterans among its ranks. Furthermore, the new team has hit the ground running, with several titles already at various stages of production.