Ustwo Games considering multiple projects, console development

Ustwo Games has big ambitions for 2016, with extra staff, multiple projects and a move onto new platforms potentially on the cards.

The Monument Valley studio finished up Gear VR effort Land’s End at the end of last year, while its debut title saw its most impressive 12 months to date, racking up more than 21 million downloads during 2015.

Asked what the future holds for the firm, newly appointed head of studio Dan Gray told Develop: “We’re still in prototyping phases right now; we’re going back to the drawing board.

“We’ve got a whole bunch of ideas that we want to experiment with further. Hopefully we can get two, maybe three, projects up and running simultaneously.”

Gray also revealed that Ustwo will start seeking new staff later this year to support its work across multiple projects and platforms – potentially including its first release for consoles.

“When we shipped Monument Valley in April 2014, we were eight people,” he recalled. “Now, in January 2016, we’re only 11 people. So we’re very picky about people that we hire, but we are looking to grow slightly as well so that we can continue work in VR and in mobile. Maybe we’ll even have something for console people, as well, at some point.”

One of the vacancies will be that of lead creative, as current lead designer and artist Ken Wong departs the company.

“Our lead designer Ken Wong is unfortunately moving back to Australia in a few months,” explained Gray. “He misses Australia too much. That’s one of the main things.

“One of the jobs that’s going to come up will essentially be lead creative at Ustwo Games, which will be a very sought-after position that I hope we’ll get some really good applicants for.”