Ex-Rockstar, Blast Furnace devs open new studio

Former employees of Rockstar Leeds and now-defunct developer The Blast Furnace have formed a brand new studio.

Fierce Kaiju is based in Yorkshire and was founded by Dan Roberts, Andy Greensmith and Paul Colls, all former Rockstar Games and Activision employees. Between them, they have worked on games in the Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption and Call of Duty franchises.

However, their new outfit will be focused on newer platforms and properties, starting with virtual reality. Fierce Kaiju’s first game will be called Viral and is in development for Gear VR, the virtual reality headset being developed by Samsung and Oculus VR.

"This piece of kit is quite something and we’re excited to be bringing our ideas to life on it," says co-founder and art director Roberts.

"The North of England has been a hub for games innovation and creativity for decades, and we’re proud to continue to be part of that tradition. Our team members have achieved a lot over years, but it doesn’t feel like enough, there’s still loads to try."