MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
One of the more interesting stories on the publishing side of the games development fence during this generation has been the increasing forays of Hollywood studios into making games – but clearly the transition from movies to interactive content hasn’t been smooth for everyone.
Brash Entertainment, a newer publisher formed last year with $400m VC funding and has focused on making games from movie IPs, has admitted its first titles were rushed productions and their release was "overly ambitious" according to its CEO.
The three games, based on the films Jumper, Alvin and the Chipmunks and Space Chimps, are notorious for their quick turnaround – but less notable for things like high sales or decent Metacritic ratings.
Chief Mitch Davis, in an interview with GameDaily, has said that while the company now has over 70 staff working across three offices with over 12 games on its slate, the team has "put an end to short-cycle games.
"In fact some of our games will benefit from up to three years of development."
He added: "We’re working with better development studios. We’ve got more than a dozen film-based games in varying stages of development with such great developers as Factor 5, Game Republic, Pipeworks, BottleRocket, Zombie and Amaze Entertainment."
The firm signed deals with the former two independents early this year amongst much fanfare.
Davis’ comments came in response to news that two execs had departed the company amidst quality concerns after president and co-founder Nicholas Longano left in May.
But with new hires at a senior level, including a key exec formerly of Activision, Davis said the firm is "at a point where we can reassess. We have systems in place, and feedback on what has and hasn’t worked. We’re making changes to refine our business so that we can meet our goals."
