Former Multiverse the developers have funded a new independent studio called Airlock Games.
The self-funded studio is led by co-founders Justin Fisher and Brock Feldman, according to a press release. Fisher was the director of production at Player First Games, the studio that worked on Multiverseand Feldman was technical director.
“We've spent years working on high-profile AAA games, but we've been missing the wonderful, reckless creativity of more focused games,” the developers said in the announcement. Previous work experience includes Phoenix Labs, Riot Games, Warner Bros. Games, EA, Disney Interactive and others.
“This is a space where we can focus on delivering new experiences that excite us both as players and developers. We're so excited to have the freedom to take creative risks, push boundaries, and tell stories that simply aren't possible in a AAA production.”
“We were collectively fired eleven times.”
Warner Bros. acquired Player First Games back in July 2024. Four months later, during a call with investors, CEO David Zaslav and CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels said that Multiverse fulfilled as expected along with Harry Potter: Quidditch Championsreleased September 2024. According to the financial report, both games contributed another $100 million loss to the gaming division, which had already suffered a $200 million loss from Suicide Squad.
In January of this year, Warner Bros. announced that it would be shutdown Multiverse May 30. “All of us, members of the Player First Games and Warner Bros. Games, have put their heart and soul into this game,” the announcement read at the time.
IN about the division On the studio's website, the co-founders detail their past experiences in the AAA industry and how they plan to move away from it.
“Watching a group of legacy companies respond to emerging market problems by laying off tens of thousands of our colleagues (and us!) in order to prop up quarterly numbers. Watching them announce strategies that rely entirely on a dwindling list of overused IP, peppered with platitudes like “surprise and delight our fans.” Watch them run away from innovation like the plague. And we watch as they continue to fail and continue to double in size,” the statement said.
Airlock Games currently has an active Kickstarter campaign for his first project called What the stars forgot. In a press release, the studio says it aims to provide “shorter playtime” at a lower price, recognizing the time constraints of modern gamers.
The co-founders appear to be taking this approach to game development as well, saying they're working in a “more flexible, experimental space with the ability to complete a game in less than a year.”
