Hi-Rez Studios and Global Agenda: The studio
Hi-Rez Studios was first created in 2005 by Erez Goren, a self-made millionaire who wrote his first video game during his high school years. He created Hi-Rez after over 20 years in the software and retail application development industry. An avid gamer at heart, Goren founded Hi-Rez to create his ultimate dream of a marriage between a persistent MMO universe, loaded with highly-competitive FPS action.
Being an independently-funded studio, Hi-Rez has the advantage over those studios with big-name publishers making the decisions for them. They are self-published and self-financed, leading to more creative freedom from within the company. Combine this with a veteran staff made up of designers who previously worked on games like City of Heroes, Oblivion and Call of Duty, and the possibilities are endless.
Hi-Rez believes that there's much more to developing a game than simply pushing that finished product out the door. They are a proud member of the Georgia Game Developers Association, which is dedicated to establishing a prominent position for the east coast in a market over-saturated by west coast studios.
They also regularly participate in community fund-raisers and programs to inspire the next generation of game developers. In June of this year, they hosted Emagination Computer Camps Atlanta to show aspiring teenage game designers what the industry is all about. They also offer a program called "Get in the Game, Georgia" that promotes local organizations to play-test their upcoming game, and get more of the general public in on game development and the entire process of refining an MMO.
On November 8th of this year, Hi-Rez will be showing Global Agenda in the first public preview of the game to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, whose goal is to cure blood cancer and improve the quality of life for its patients. Mission: Pwning for a Cure will be held at the Computer ArenA in Roswell, Georgia on Saturday, November 8th from 12-5pm ET. If you'd be interested in attending this event, you can look for more complete information on the website's press release, as well as future coverage from Massively.
