J.J. Abrams Bad Robot production company is launching a gaming division that’s set to be backed by one of the largest companies in the industry.
Bad Robot Games, the production house’s new division, is being backed by Chinese internet company Tencent, along with Warner Bros., which holds a minor stake.
The new division will focus on original games across mobile, PC and console.
“Bad Robot Games will team up with traditional game developers to create both large and indie-scale projects for mobile, PC, and console — leveraging its world-building and storytelling expertise, in-house creative directors and network of visual artists, musicians, sound designers, writers and other world-class talents,” reads a statement from Brad Robot Games sent to Variety.
While Bad Robot has worked on games in the past, this new division seems to be an effort to take video game development more seriously. Bad Robot Games will be lead by Dave Baranoff, who has also worked on the company’s other gaming projects. Previous gaming efforts by the production house include Cloverfield 2008, Action Movie FX, PASS Time (a mode for Valve’s Team Fortress). Baranoff is also currently working on a co-production with Epic Games called Spyjinx.
To put this move in context, Tencent owns League of Legends developer Riot Games, Clash of Clans creator Supercell and has a significant stake in Epic, the company behind Fortnite and the Unreal Engine.
The division has yet to announce a game, but it’s possible it will reveal something soon with E3 just around the corner.
“I’m a massive games fan, and increasingly envious of the amazing tools developers get to work with, and the worlds they get to play in. Now we are doubling down on our commitment to the space with a unique co-development approach to game making that allows us to focus on what we do best, and hopefully be a meaningful multiplier to our developer partners,” said Abrams in a statement to Variety.
It’s unclear how much involvement Abrams will have with Bad Robot Games, though it looks like he will play at least some role at the company if the statement above is any indication.
Image credit: Wikipedia
Source: Variety
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