Blizzard, SOE, Relic pedigree meets free-to-play with Molten Games
Molten Games is a new development studio hoping to break free of the traditional relationship between developer and publisher. In a debut announcement, CEO and co-founder Jungwon Hahn says the studio will achieve this by putting gameplay and player experience "first with every decision" as the studio undertakes its flagship free-to-play online PC game.
"We're just trying to take advantage of the free-to-play model, but we want people to have the same expectation of quality they would if they went and bought a $60 console game at the store," chief product officer Paul Della Bitta tells GI International. The pedigree at Molten Games is very much rooted in online games, with key talent having previously worked at Sony Online Entertainment, Blizzard and Relic Entertainment.
Since its formation earlier this year, Molten Games has assembled around 30 employees, but Della Bitta expects headcount to rise to 60 by the end of next year. That headcount is in part thanks to VC funding from NCSoft, which has already given millions to Molten Games through a Series A round investment - a preferred stock allocation to investors typical of most start-up enterprises. Despite the investment, Molten Games will retain the IP to its unannounced game and NCSoft will not serve as publisher.
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Executives from Blizzard, Sony Online and Relic Entertainment Form Molten Games
San Diego Studio Developing AAA Online Game with Initial Multi-Million Dollar Series A Investment Lead by NCSOFT
SAN DIEGO-July 24, 2013- Molten Games, a developer and publisher of online games, announced that the company has received a multi-million dollar investment from Korean gaming powerhouse NCSOFT, leading the way on Molten's Series A funding.
"Molten Games has assembled a wildly talented and experienced team, and we absolutely believe they will create and run an amazing new game experience," said Taek Jin Kim, CEO at NCSOFT. "They're setting the bar high for themselves, with a strong desire to shake up the online gaming space by creating something new and unique in our industry."
Molten Games is centered in San Diego, California. Focused on breaking free from the traditional developer/publisher relationship and putting gameplay first and foremost, the company is continuing to build its talented team and first product, with more information about the game to be released at a later date.
"We created Molten Games in order to truly have control over our game development and IP, and we're going to create something epic," said Jungwon Hahn, CEO and co-founder of Molten Games. "Our team understands not only the creation of online games, but the ongoing management of them, better than anyone else in the industry. As we continue to build our team and work on our initial product, gameplay and player experience is going to come first with every decision."
For more information about the company, please visit http://www.moltengames.com/
About Molten Games, Inc.
Molten Games, Inc. is a developer of premium online video games based in sunny San Diego. Powered by a team of top creative talent from companies including Blizzard Entertainment, Sony Online Entertainment and Relic Entertainment, Molten Games is breaking the traditional developer/publisher mold in order to put gameplay and player experience first and foremost. Molten Games is backed by a multi-million dollar Series A investment from NCSOFT.
About NCSOFT
NCSOFT, headquartered in Seoul, Korea, is the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games, including the critically acclaimed Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2, Aion, Lineage, Lineage 2 and Blade & Soul. With offices in North America, Europe, Japan, Taiwan etc, NCSOFT aims at providing fun to everyone, everywhere in the world. More information can be found at www.ncsoft.com.
