A group of former Respawn developers announced that they have officially formed a new gaming studio under the name Wildlight Entertainment. Recent years have given birth to a number of studios spun out of large-scale gaming companies, such as former Forza Horizon developers' Maverick Games. Wildlight appears to be the latest entry to this list. While the new studio is yet to share more details on what's to come, the former Respawn developers have indicated that it's working on a shooter game.Shooters have often been a popular category in the gaming world for decades, and this popularity only seemed to have grown thanks in part to hit live-service franchises like Counter‑Strike: Global Offensive, Call of Duty, and Apex Legends, among others. Incidentally, Apex Legends recently hit a new all-time peak player count, a sign that the genre continues to generate a lot of excitement among gamers. It remains to be seen what to expect from the former Respawn team, but it may not be far off to assume that the studio would want to bring a similarly popular title to life.The official studio was made public today by the newly formed Wildlight Entertainment team on social media, although the studio has been reportedly in the works since last year. Dubbed a "remote first, hybrid friendly" company, Wildlight's team primarily features creators from IPs such as Call of Duty, Titanfall, and Apex Legends. Alongside the creators, the studio's co-founding CEO is Dusty Welch, who previously carried the Chief Operating Officer and General Manager role for Respawn's Apex Legends. So far, Wildlight hasn't divulged details on any of its upcoming work other than a new FPS title currently in development. While it may be a while until the studio shares more info, it's likely the new IP may take the live-service route, given the team's expertise and the popularity of the space.
It's worth noting that this isn't the first studio to spin out of Respawn Entertainment. Back in 2020, former Titanfall developers set up Gravity Well studio headed by Drew McCoy and Jon Shiring, who comes with experience from Call of Duty and Apex Legends. However, the studio is yet to make any announcements on its gaming project.
Respawn itself has been going through a rocky few months. It recently canceled its Apex Legends mobile game along with its unannounced Titanfall Legends project, which was rumored to feature both Legends and Titans from the franchise. Even so, fans have continued to dive into Apex Legends in massive numbers, particularly after Respawn announced its new season. Now that another studio in the form of Wildlight is set to add a new shooter into the mix, FPS fans may be in for some interesting years ahead.