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Former Blizzard Staffers Announce New Studio

Posted by simoniker on from the out-of-the-cold dept.

Thanks to GameSpot for their news that the key members of the creative team behind Diablo and Diablo II have announced their new company, called Flagship Studios, after their split from Blizzard at the end of June. The 9 co-founders of the San Francisco-based studio hope "...to build on a track record established by their work on the... Diablo franchise" at Blizzard North, and there's a piece of concept art and a company FAQ on Flagship's site that clarifies the fact they "intend the PC to be our main development platform", mentioning "multiplayer focused" aspects to this very early-in-development debut title.

1 of 24 comments (clear)

  1. Seems to be a recurring trend... by I(rispee_I(reme · · Score: 3, Informative

    I can think of at least two other instances of the most talented section of a game development company taking wing over petty differences:
    1)When the developers of Contra left Konami to form Treasure.
    2)When the developers of Goldeneye and Perfect Dark left Rare to join Eidos.
    In each of these instances, the output of the parent company suffered greatly, while the prodigal developers released games that built on the strengths of their previous works, while seeming less constrained (or focused, depending on your perspective.) For Konami vs Treasure, compare Contra 3 to Gunstar Heroes. For Rare vs Eidos, compare Goldeneye or Perfect Dark to Time Splitters 1 or 2.
    I wish the upstarts the best of luck, and hope they can further refine their work.