Ordinal Games is a new studio from EA and Scopely bosses

Another week, another pair of established industry bods forming an indie studio. This time it’s Chris Pasley, who was executive producer on The Walking Dead: Road to Survival, and Alex Lien, ex-studio director at EA’s Pogo Shanghai studio. Together they have formed Ordinal Games, a free-to-play mobile development house that will be focusing on narrative experiences, according to a report by PocketGamer.

“Narrative-focused” is a key pillar for the majority of indie studios we’ve seen pop up in recent months, which is fantastic to see, but Ordinal Games differs in that it gives players a chance to make money by contributing their own content. No clear indication what sort of content this could be, but there’s already precedence for gamers creating written narrative content and receiving a portion of profits elsewhere in the mobile industry.

Ordinal Games will be split between LA and Shanghai, with design and distribution being led from the west and nuts and bolts development happening in the east.

“We see a greater level of narrative integration as the next step for mobile RPGs,” said Ordinal CEO Chris Pasley to PocketGamer. “Character and narrative will be the keys to going beyond dry but effective mechanics and toward rich experiences that drive high retention – while also embracing what makes free-to-play work.

“Allowing players to create their own narratives inside our platform is one of the ways our games will be able to differentiate themselves – with vast amounts of creative, constantly refreshing content.”