Disney made significant waves in the realm of entertainment last week with the acquisition of Marvel Entertainment, but the company didn't rest with just that. CNBC is reporting that Disney today acquired Wideload Games and hired Bungie Software founder and Halo co-creator Alex Seropian. The developer is also working on an undisclosed title for Disney that's expected to release in 2010.
"We're really trying to be a magnet in this industry for talent, as we are in so many other parts of the entertainment world," says Graham Hopper, executive vice president and general manager of Disney Interactive Studios. "Having someone of Alex's caliber join us is a tribute to the great people we have here already."
The Disney Corporation is tripling its investment in games, and currently has over 1,200 employees. This latest move, along with a similar acquisition of Junction Point studio and the hiring of Warren Spector in 2007, signals how serious the company is about gaming.
"We want to be bigger than what we are today – a lot bigger than what we are today," says Hopper. "We don't have the ambition of trying to unseat the top players in the industry, because we don't have the market share goal. What we want to do is build up and introduce new [properties] to the game industry - and to Disney - and expose the company in a new way to consumers."
Seropian will be focused on changing the way Disney makes games. "For me, it's about 'what do I want to do?'," he says. "I have some very specific goals for myself – redefining what the video game business is. And I did that with Wideload. [Disney and I] had this conversation about how can we take that kind of thinking and make it bigger."
For Seropian, he wants to straddle the line between core and casual gamers, something he thinks Disney is well positioned to do. "Look at Pixar," he says. "They are successfully making films that appeal to both families and film nerds – and that opportunity exists in games."
"It really is about building a team that can win," says Hopper. "We want to be sure we have a creative environment where the best game makers in the industry are comfortable working – and where they want to work."
Update: According to the just issued press release, Seropian will officially take the newly created role of vice president of creative and relocate to Glendale, CA to lead the company’s global creative efforts. He will report directly to Global Product Development Senior Vice President Jean-Marcel Nicolai, and be tasked with overseeing creative development across Disney Interactive Studios’ portfolio of video games. Wideload Games itself, however, will remain in Chicago and Wideload Games president Tom Kang will continue to lead the studio as studio director.
