Three former developers from EA and Riot Games have formed a new studio called Vela Games. The studio was recently announced at Develop:Brighton 2019, though they have been around since late 2018 quietly working to build their team. The new studio, which is named after a constellation in the Southern Hemisphere, has a focus on multiplayer games due to their nature of bringing people together.
Vela Games, in addition to a desire to make multiplayer games that are fun to play, have established five core values: Player-Focus First, Focus on Fun, Beat Your Highest Score, Co-Op at Every Level, and Iterate to Innovate. The team is already hard at work on their first original IP, which will feature heavy, if not entirely co-op experience. “By focusing more on co-op than direct competition, it will lead to players playing and winning more, together,” said Travis George in a recent interview with Gameindustry.biz.
The three co-founders of the new studio are Brian Kaiser, Lisa Newon George, and Travis George. Brian Kaiser, a former Game and Narrative Designer for EA, will assume the role of Director of Creative Design. Lisa Newon George holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from UCLA and was the former Insights Lead and Researcher for Riot Games; she will take on the role of Director of Insights at Vela. Finally, Travis George was the former Director of Product at Riot Games and will be the CEO of Vela Games. All three have extensive experience in varied sects of the video game world.
Vela Games’ headquarters will be in Dublin, Ireland, and apparently, they were asked for an explanation so much that there is a page on their website dedicated to the answer. “The short answer is that we think Ireland is great place to live and work,” reads the page. All three co-founders have relocated to Dublin from California, and are even willing to help those they hire to move there. Currently, the studio employs “13 world-class developers, with a breadth of AAA experiences,” and are excited to continue work on their first game. You can keep up to date on Vela Games through their social media channels.