Avalanche Studios (www.avalanchestudios.se), original creators and developers of the award-winning Just Cause franchise and the critically acclaimed Renegade Ops, is celebrating the one year anniversary of its New York studio.
The 2011 announcement of a New York-based development studio raised eyebrows across the video game industry. Why not Canada? Or the West Coast? The reason given by co-founder and Executive Producer Christofer Sundberg was simple – Avalanche Studios had been looking to establish an American presence for some time, but wanted to avoid being swallowed up in the overcrowded hot spots. With New York, there were obvious logistical upsides, as well as the promise of the greatest city on Earth.
Over the past year, having studios on each side of the Atlantic has given Avalanche Studios a unique opportunity to recruit the best talent from all of Europe, as well as North America. It has also provided its staff with the equally unique option to move between studios. Many senior Avalanche staff have relocated from Stockholm to New York with additional staff moving between the studios in the near future.
“The one year anniversary marks an important milestone for our company”, said David Grijns, General Manager of Avalanche Studios’ New York office. “More than a year ago we announced our intentions to open a world class AAA game development studio in the heart of the city. Today, with a staff of 60 of the best artists, animators, designers, producers and engineers on the planet, we have established a studio of which we are very proud. We are deeply committed believers in the strength, creativity and diversity of New York City and we intend to grow the studio well into 2013. Project Mamba, our yet to be announced project for next-gen platforms, continues to surpass all expectations and is an incredible testament to the talent and experience of our team.”
“2012 has been a year of opportunities”, commented co-founder and Executive Producer Christofer Sundberg. “Avalanche Studios has always been a studio going against industry standards and norms. We delivered ground-breaking open world games when no one believed we could. In 2011, we went one step further and opened a AAA studio in New York City when everyone else was focused on Montreal and the West Coast. We will always go our own way, maintaining our integrity and continuing to deliver unrivaled open-world experiences.”
For more information or studio interview requests, please contact Avalanche Studios Head of Communications, Thomas Wiborgh at [email protected].
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About Avalanche Studios
Avalanche Studios was founded in 2003 by Christofer Sundberg and Linus Blomberg and is the original creator of the award-winning Just Cause franchise (published by Eidos/Square Enix). The Avalanche Studios headquarters is located in Stockholm, Sweden, with a new studio founded in the heart of New York City in June of 2011, and becoming fully operational in November of the same year. The company develops games based on its proprietary technology, enabling unique open-worlds to be created based on original or licensed content. Avalanche Studios recently released its first XBLA/PSN/PC game, Renegade Ops (published by SEGA), which has received great critical acclaim. The studio is currently hard at work at several AAA games, all based on the latest iteration of the Avalanche Engine. More information is available at Avalanche Studios website: www.avalanchestudios.se.