Glen Schofield, the creator of Dead Space and a former head of Sledgehammer Games, recently sat down with GamesBeat to talk about his latest project working with PUBG Corp., the company behind Player Unknown's Battlegrounds. While Schofield couldn't speak to specifically on the new game he's working on, he did comment on how his team has been building the new Striking Distance Studios during a pandemic.
Since leaving Sledgehammer Games and Activision, Schofield began forming Striking Distance Studios in San Ramon, CA with funding from PUBG Corp. fueling this latest venture. Thanks to the publisher's support, Striking Distance is currently in development on a AAA-game that is meant to be held within the same universe as the massively popular PUBG title.
According to Schofield, Striking Distance's first project is a triple-A title that the studio has been internally referencing as quad-A, as a statement of how advanced this game the developers are looking to create really is. However, shortly after securing a space to work out of and beginning the process of moving the staff to a new office in San Ramon, CA, lockdowns began taking place across the state. This may lead to Striking Distance joining the growing list of companies forced to delay games due to Coronavirus, with the infant studio's first game having to be developed by a team from their homes.
That being said, Schofield is still confident that Striking Distance's current project is still on the way, as many team members continue their work from the safety of their homes. Likewise, the company is still hiring, even during the pandemic and without a central location for the team to work from at the moment, although there is a fully stocked location with mo-cap capabilities ready to go once the situation allows it to be used. This puts Striking Distance Studios on the same ground as other developers like, Santa Monica Studios and Obsidian still hiring, with opportunities for new employees to join in on new projects.
There's still plenty that we don't know about the new game that Striking Distance is working on, but seeing that Schofield and the rest of the studio is still ready to continue development, even through the trying times is certainly exciting. However, this new PUBG inspired game is likely still a long way away, as Schofield himself admitted that development is really only capable of continuing forward because the game is still in its early stages of development. It'd be a good idea to keep an ear to the ground for news from the new development studio, but no one should hold their breath for a groundbreaking announcement any time soon.
Striking Distance Studio's new AAA-game is currently in development.
Source: VentureBeat