Take-Two Interactive and 2K Games have announced that the latter has set up a new studio in Silicon Valley, which will be headed up by Michael Condrey, former director at the now defunct Visceral Games, who went on to co-found Sledgehammer Games at Activision (and later left last year). As per the studio’s webpage, the team will be “dedicated to crafting highly engaging entertainment and committed to putting fans first” and will “enjoy the creative autonomy of an independent team supported by 2K’s publishing infrastructure.”
David Ismailer, president of the 2K label, mentioned in a statement how excited he and 2K Games were to be adding Michael Condrey to their ranks, and in a leadership position at a new studio no less. “At 2K, we offer our collective audience a variety of engaging and captivating entertainment experiences,” he said. “We continually seek opportunities to empower and invest in the right people and ideas. Michael’s unparalleled creative, production and leadership accolades are well-documented and deserved. We are greatly inspired not only by his passion but the potential for his new studio to complement our existing portfolio and development expertise. We welcome Michael to the 2K family and look forward to seeing our new Silicon Valley studio flourish in the months and years to come.”
Condrey also gave his thoughts on being put in charge of the new Silicon Valley studio, briefly talking about the ambitions he has for his new development team. “Great games come from the passion of a team driven by the pursuit of quality and the empowerment of an independent studio model,” said Condrey. “2K’s studios have creative and technical autonomy, backed by a world-class infrastructure of support, and that offers the perfect recipe to build a new studio and craft experiences that will lead the next generation of gaming for fans everywhere.”
“David and the dedicated people at 2K and Take-Two have an extensive history of rich and established brands, as well as a long tenure of executive leadership committed to supporting the ambitions of their independent studio teams,” he continued. “Today’s announcement represents a rare and special opportunity for developers to help build and shape a new Silicon Valley studio from the ground up. I couldn’t be more excited, or thankful, to embark on this next step in my career.”
Given Condrey’s track record at both Visceral Games and Sledgehammer Games, there should be no doubt that he should prove to be a great asset to 2K Games. It remains to be seen what he works on next, but it’s still early days yet, so it might be a while before we hear anything on that front. Stay tuned to GamingBolt for any updates.