Three former Riot veterans have partnered up with each other to start up a brand new studio named Wonderstorm. All three cofounders – who met while at Riot – hope to not only use the studio to create video games, but explore other avenues as well. The studio has already partnered with investors MWM to create an original animated Netflix series, and also has plans to create a corresponding game for late 2018.
For the cofounders, this is the next logical step in the world of building their own vision. Executive producer Justin Richmond previously headed up a game development team at Riot, and before that was a game director for Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. Wonderstorm President Justin Santisevan was Riot’s head of finance for research and development, and Aaron Ehasz – the CEO for the newly minted company – was Riot’s creative director, who also has managed to have a ridiculous career in TV, having co-executive producer and showrunner credits on Avatar: The Last Airbender.
When it comes to the perils of starting your own studio, the team at Wonderstorm hope to avoid many of the usual problems that arise, with Ehasz hoping that a more combined effort will yield better results. “Writers and artists are literally working alongside designers and engineers, and we’re all engaged with these characters and this world,” Ehasz says. “It’s really a delightful situation. A lot of contributions are coming from corners you don’t expect.”
While no other information has been revealed yet regarding either the Netflix series or the video game set in the same world, it would be unwise to doubt the company. With the three founders all having backgrounds in highly popular games – and TV, in some instances – the sky seems to be the limit for the new studio, and only time will tell if they manage to stick the landing. For more information on the studio and how they came to be, make sure to check out Polygon’s interview with the founders.
[Source: Polygon]
