"The Initiative" is an all-new studio that will reside in Santa Monica, announced this year at E3. Normally, I'd say, "Ok, cool," and just move on with my day, but unlike some of the other studios Microsoft is adding (Playground Games, Compulsion Games, Ninja Theory, etc.) to their stable, this is a brand new studio they are staffing themselves, not just a studio they are buying lock stock and barrel. And the staff for the Initiative? Mein Gott! It is flat-out loaded with talent.
Headed by Darrell Gallagher (Crash Bandicoot, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Hitman, Just Cause 3, etc.), he released the following statement/ad:
Who are these people? Well, Christian Cantamessa, was the lead writer and designer for Red Dead Redemption, so there's a juggernaut right there. Who else we got? Who else, you ask? Well, Brian Westergaard was the lead producer on God of War, Blake Fischer has been publishing for Microsoft for the better part of two decades, Dan Neuburger is an old salt from Crystal Dynamics, and the others all have a pretty high pedigree; whether it's from 38 studios or snapchat, these people know what the hell they're doing.
We don't know what they're going to make, but here's their mission statement of sorts;
“The foundation we have in place for The Initiative is unique in many ways. We’ve been given the freedom to explore, try new things and operate like an independent studio, with the backing from one of the biggest companies in the world to do something bold and different. The industry is headed in an exciting direction, and we see an opportunity to create amazing new game experiences of the future. Our immediate focus is expanding our team to bring that vision to life, and we are incredibly excited for what the future holds for The Initiative.”
Keep an eye out for these guys, because I have a feeling that whatever they make, it's going to be something special.
