While Electronic Arts is busy consolidating studios, it seems rival publisher Activision Blizzard is expanding. Today Activision Publishing announced the formation of a new development studio in Foster City, California called Sledgehammer Games. Activision has brought on board Glen A. Schofield as Vice President and General Manager and Michael Condrey as Vice President and COO of the new studio. Both industry veterans were most recently at EA's Visceral Games (Dead Space), which used to be known as EA Redwood Shores.
During their tenure at Visceral, Schofield served as the Executive Producer for Dead Space while Condrey was the Sr. Development Director. Activision said that "they are joined at Sledgehammer Games by many award winning developers from across the industry," but didn't list any more talent specifically by name. Sledgehammer is working on an "as-yet-unannounced new videogame."
"Both Glen and Michael have outstanding reputations in the industry through their work as GM and COO of Visceral Games, and as the leadership of the Dead Space development team," said Dave Stohl, Executive Vice President of Studios at Activision. "We are excited to add their combined 30 years of experience and expertise to our management team."
"Michael and I are thrilled to be building a brand new studio for Activision. This was an opportunity for us to assemble a world-class team made up of developers with a proven track record in delivering top-rated games. We know what it takes to develop a Game of the Year title, and we also know that the title needs the support of a strong publisher to make the game a success," said Schofield. "We are honored to be part of the family of amazing developers that have delivered some of the best-selling games in the industry and we look forward to continuing that success at Sledgehammer Games."
"Activision Blizzard's independent studio model is very empowering," added Condrey. "We have a fantastic new studio facility, the foundation for a world-class team and the backing of the industry's most profitable game publisher. This was a rare opportunity we couldn't pass up and we are thankful for the support the Activision organization has shown us."
With EA cutting 1,500 staff, we have a feeling that more former EA members could wind up at Sledgehammer. Activision said that it's "actively recruiting top industry talent to join their primary development team."
