The core team from Typhoon Studios (bought out by Google in December 2019) has reformed as a brand-new studio now revealed as RACOON LOGIC.
This team of vets formerly from the likes of EA, Ubisoft and WB Games has been formed with a large investment from Tencent and have taken with them the rights to Typhoon’s critically acclaimed Journey to the Savage Planet IP. This will give them a massive boost moving forward, with a good chance of more adventures from the Savage Planet heading our way.
Racoon Logic’s founders have all worked on some stellar titles including Far Cry 4, Assassin’s Creed 3, Watch Dogs 1+2 and much more. With this pedigree, I think we can expect some great things from this new development studio.
The founders of Racoon Logic include:
- Alex Hutchinson, Creative Director and Co-Founder. Previously Co-Founder and Creative Director, Typhoon Studios/Google. Prior to that a creative director at Ubisoft Montreal, where he directed Far Cry 4 and Assassin’s Creed 3. Other past work includes Spore, The Sims 2, and Army of Two: The 40th Day for EA.
- Reid Schneider, Studio Head, Executive Producer and Co-Founder. Previously Co-Founder and Studio Head/EP, Typhoon Studios/Google. Prior to that, a co-founder of WB Games Montreal where he served as the Executive Producer on Batman: Arkham Origins and Batman: Arkham Knight, Schneider’s other past work includes EA’s Army of Two and Army of Two: 40th Day, Battlefield Vietnam, and the original Splinter Cell.
- Yannick Simard, CTO and Co-Founder. Previously Technical Director/Software Development Manager at Typhoon Studios/Google. Prior to that, worked at Ubisoft in different Lead Programmer and Technical Lead roles on Watch Dogs 1 & Watch Dogs 2. Other past work includes Army of Two, Army of Two: The 40th Day, and Spore Hero at EA, and Lead Engine Programmer at Eidos.
- Erick Bilodeau, Art Director and Co-Founder. Previously Head of Art of Typhoon Studios/Google. Prior to that he worked at WB Games Montreal as a Lead Technical Artist on Batman: Arkham Origins. Other work includes Shawn White Skateboarding, Far Cry 2, and Mighty Quest for Epic Loot.
- Marc-Antoine Lussier, Technical Design Director and Co-Founder. Previously Principal Technical Designer at Typhoon Studios/Google. Prior to that he worked at Ubisoft Montréal as Technical Design Director on the original Assassin’s Creed, Assassin’s Creed 2, Assassin’s Creed 3, and Assassin’s Creed Unity. Other previous work includes Syberia and Myst 4.
In a statement about the formation of the new studio Alex Hutchinson, Creative Director for Racoon Logic said:
“We’re excited to be back in the indie space, making the games we truly believe in with an amazing new team, The early investment from Tencent is a huge boost, meaning we can do significant work on our own before we start talking to publishers. We love systemic games, games with a sense of humour and a big heart, and games with strong flavours that get reactions from players. We’re going to keep pushing on those ideas and we’ll have something to show soon!”
In particular, commenting on a continuation to Journey to the Savage Planet Reid Schneider, Studio Head at Racoon Logic has stated :
“We’re super excited to continue the work we started at Typhoon Studios, and build upon the Journey to the Savage Planet franchise in the future. We would like to thank our partners at Tencent, Google, and 505 for their support. We’re fortunate to have put together an amazing team, many of whom helped build Savage Planet, and we’ve added some great new talent as well.”
This new studio is definitely one to look out for in future, with the talent at their disposal any new release from them is sure to be stellar.
