GDC 13: Warner Bros. opens San Francisco studio

Warner Bros. Games has opened a new development studio in San Francisco.

The new WB Games branch will focus on developing digital free-to-play, mobile, social and browser-based titles.

The new studio will be headed up by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment senior VP of digital games Greg Ballard.

As well as game development, WB Games San Francisco will also oversee publishing of all mobile games created by across the company.

The developer will be based in the same office as social film site Flixster.

“The Bay Area is the home of social and mobile gaming and WB Games San Francisco is Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment’s opportunity to expand our game development capabilities into the epicenter of the digital world,” said Ballard.

“San Francisco is a hotbed of local talent and convenient access to major partners, and this will help us achieve our goal to bring our top entertainment and gaming brands, as well as original IP, to multiple mobile, social and emerging platforms.”

The news comes nearly a year after WB Games laid off a number of staff at its Seattle office, with rumours suggesting that 60 staff had been let go from the developer.