Ex-Blizzard employee opens new indie studio

A former employee at Blizzard Entertainment has announced the formation of his new casual games studio, known as Gravity Bear.

Phil Shenk – who was lead artist and designer on Diablo 2 at Blizzard North – says that Gravity Bear was formed with the sole aim of “creating games that reconnect people to the core” of gaming.

“Our commitment is to bring the calibre of social gaming experiences players want, as they want them,” he said, “which means delivering new kinds of excitement and fun that blend the latest in modern game design with fresh technology.”

Shenk, who co-founded the studio, now acts as company CEO. He will be joined by a variety of industry veterans who have worked at companies such as Flagship Studios, Sega and Sony.

The developer will focus on developing original IP across numerous platforms, on a number of networks.

In 2003 Shenk co-founded Flagship Studios with several other Blizzard Entertainment employees.