Take-Two’s publishing label Private Division has announced that it’s secured three new publishing deals with some independent studios, and will be funding their upcoming projects.
First up is Moon Studios, which is best known for its work on 2015’s Ori and the Blind Forest and its sequel Ori and the Will of the Wisps that launched earlier this year. According to Private Division’s announcement, whatever’s coming next from the team will be a pretty big departure from the side-scrolling platformers, as Moon Studios is now working on an action RPG.
“Developing the Ori series over the last decade has been a fantastic experience for our team, and we’re thrilled to now be aiming our sights even higher with a new action RPG,” said Moon Studios co-founders Thomas Mahler and Gennadiy Korol in the announcement. “We attribute our success to the ‘iterative polish’ process we use at Moon Studios, and we’re continuing that style of development to create a new game that rises above anything we’ve created thus far.”
Second is League of Geeks, which launched Armello, a strategy RPG in 2015 with the help of Kickstarter. Now that it’s partnering with Private Division, whatever’s next will be funded in full without the need for crowdfunding. This upcoming game will be part of a new IP, meaning it won’t be set in the Armello universe.
“It’s equally important for us to build games with heart that can rally and foster a dedicated community of players, as it is to develop games that are critical, cultural, and commercial successes,” said co-founder and director Blake Mizzi. “This partnership provides the opportunity for us to grow our studio alongside our ambitions to create something beyond anything we’ve developed before.”
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Lastly, Roll7 will also be getting a nice check from Private Division to develop its next game. The studio is most widely-known for its skateboarding series OlliOlli, as well as one-offs like Not a Hero and Laser League.
“Our titles resonate with players because we strive for super solid game feel, highly refined gameplay, and simple but highly masterable mechanics,” said Roll7 chief creative officer John Ribbins. “We’re really excited to be working with Private Division on our next title and we can’t wait for players to get their hands on it. We’re raising the bar on our creativity and the scope of our ambition to make this next project our best thing yet.”
From the sound of it, these projects are still early in development, as the first game that will launch from these deals won’t be out before Take-Two’s 2022 fiscal year, which begins in 2021. The announcement doesn’t say which of these studios will be releasing its game first.
Private Division was established in 2017, and has published games like The Outer Worlds, Kerbal Space Program, and Disintegration.
