When Metroid Prime developer Retro Studios lost three of their key members earlier this year , they left a lot of uncertainty in their wake. Nobody knew for sure where they would work next, why they left, or what was to become of Retro Studios in their absence. According to a report from Kotaku, we finally have some answers. The three central figures who left Retro -- art director Todd Keller, design director Mark Pacini, and principal technology engineer Jack Matthews -- have moved on to form a new game development company called Armature Studio. The group is focusing on creating prototypes for other developers to flesh out, while the Armature team keeps watch as directors. This is all being accomplished through an exclusive partnership with Electronic Arts. "EA approached us with this really interesting business model of creating a small studio that is only comprised of industry veterans," revealed Pacini, continuing, "The goal is to create new [intellectual property] with a very, very small team and to produce a game without having to grow that team." Not a bad idea, considering the ever-increasing costs of console development. ...
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When Metroid Prime developer Retro Studios lost three of their key members earlier this year , they left a lot of uncertainty in their wake. Nobody knew for sure where they would work next, why they left, or what was to become of Retro Studios in their absence. According to a report from Kotaku, we finally have some answers. The three central figures who left Retro -- art director Todd Keller, design director Mark Pacini, and principal technology engineer Jack Matthews -- have moved on to form a new game development company called Armature Studio. The group is focusing on creating prototypes for other developers to flesh out, while the Armature team keeps watch as directors. This is all being accomplished through an exclusive partnership with Electronic Arts. "EA approached us with this really interesting business model of creating a small studio that is only comprised of industry veterans," revealed Pacini, continuing, "The goal is to create new [intellectual property] with a very, very small team and to produce a game without having to grow that team." Not a bad idea, considering the ever-increasing costs of console development. ...