Crystal Dynamics has grown to be one of Square Enix’s premier development studios in recent years, and have just expanded even further. In addition to their long-running Redwood Shores studio, a new satellite studio in Bellevue, Washington called Crystal Northwest has been established.
This studio is officially operational as of today and is led by Chad Queen and James Loe, who have both been in the game industry for over 20 years. At first, this studio’s main focus will be on “technology development,” crafting the tech and tools that Crystal Dynamics will use to develop future games. The first title Crystal Northwest is helping with is The Avengers Project, which was first teased over a year ago. Scot Amos, Co-Head of Studio at Crystal Dynamics, commented on the establishment of Crystal Northwest:
“We’re aggressively scaling up our teams and adding a new studio with spectacular talent to deliver the ultimate gaming experiences for our players. We have assembled a team of industry veterans and leaders in order to create gaming experiences that surpass the expectations of our passionate community.”
Crystal Dynamics is also bringing on “dozens” of new hires to its Redwood Shores studio. Some of the most notable additions include Lead Combat Designer Vincent Napoli, who worked on God of War, Creative Director Ben Wanat, known for helping create the Dead Space franchise, and David Fifield, who has worked on both Halo and Call of Duty as an Executive Producer and Design Director. Other hires also come from places like Pixar, EA, and Naughty Dog.
Crystal Dynamics other Co-Head of Studio Ron Rosenberg discussed how these new hires and the new studio will only strengthen the Avengers Project, which he describes as the “most ambitious project” that Crystal Dynamics has ever worked on:
“Our new studio in Bellevue, and the new hires in Redwood Shores, represent our continued commitment to the most ambitious project we’ve ever created. We’ll keep building on the exciting growth Crystal Dynamics has experienced over the last several years, and are eager to deliver a world-class Avengers experience for fans around the world.”
You can check out the logo for Crystal Northwest below. DualShockers will be sure to let you know when Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix decide to share even more information on their upcoming Avengers Project, which they promised to talk more about this year.