Brighton Pulls in new games team

Another independent studio has opened in Brighton, joining the likes of Relentless and Zoë Mode on the coast.

Co-founded by former SCEE man John Steels, the new studio is called Pulled Pin and is planning to develop ‘traditional’ multi-platform console games, but will produce them under an outsourcing model.

Studio art lead Steels, who most recently was involved with the development of PlayStation Home and previously also worked for EA and Mucky Foot, has co-founded the outfit with non-games execs David Shaw, technical director – who previously developed NASA instruments – and entrepreneur and political writer Perry de Havilland, creative director of the studio.

The team is currently developing a vertical slice of its first product ahead of pitching the concept to publishers.

Steels told Develop: “In previous jobs I’ve seen ideas get diluted quickly if you pitch a concept too early. A lot of publishers are very risk averse and for video games it’s very hard for them to imagine what it would be like when it’s finished. So we want to have something ready that will show what our game will be like.”

When the game goes into full production, various parts will be outsourced to other companies, with Steels promising to utilise contacts made during his games career.

“Brighton has a really good infrastructure for the video games industry," added Steels. “What I like about setting up down here is that all the business are complimentary. Everyone is doing their own thing – we’re a more traditional console game team, but we’re there with lifestyle games studios, racing teams and MMO teams. A good thing about Brighton is that it’s a good environment, with a nice shared knowledge base with little competition.”­