Warner Bros. announced the creation of a new game studio in San Francisco. It was headed by former Glu Mobile boss Greg Ballard. The studio will create mobile free-to-play projects. In his interview with GamesIndustry International, Ballard talked about her plans.
Warner Bros. the mobile market is not the largest publisher. Her portfolio has enough trash and low-quality applications “based on motives”, but there are also hits. The company has released Bastion, Injustice: Gods Among Us and Scribblenauts Remix on iOS. Given the growth of the mobile market, it is quite understandable that Warners want not only to publish, but also to create games. It is clear that this requires its own forge of hits.
Greg BallardGreg Ballard, a true pioneer of the industry, is perfectly suited to the role of the head of this forge.
He has been responsible for games at Warner Bros for two years, before that he worked for Glu Mobile as an executive director for six years, acted as a member of the board of THQ for the same amount, headed 3dfx and Capcom.
“Our task is to create a small, growing division capable of developing mobile and browser-based free-to-play games,” says Ballard about the new gaming division. – “And also tie up the entire Warner Bros. publishing at the studio.“
So far, however, according to him, the Warners do not expect much from the mobile studio. It is assumed that it will produce two projects a year. Moreover, we are unlikely to see the first game of the studio until 2014.
“We are not going to grow to the level of Kabam or Zynga in the near future. Thanks to the Warners, I realized that resources follow success. And, as I told various guys at Warner Bros., we want to release a few titles in 2014, then a couple more in 2015 and see what happens with their success.”
Ballard also said that in the future his team will create original IP.