Ex-Techland COO launches new development studio Strange New Things

After leaving Techland in April 2016, the Polish studio's ex-COO Pawel Zawodny has now launched new outfit Strange New Things. 

Having overseen work on the likes of Dying Light, Dead Island and the Call of Juarez series himself, Zawodny is joined by a handful of former Techland colleagues, as well as former employees of IO Interactive and CD Projekt Red. Their collective industry experience spans 144 years, and covers over 20 big-budget games. 

"Every member of the team had worked on major titles throughout their career," says Zawodny in a statement. "Dying Light, Hitman, The Witcher series, Dead Island, Call of Juarez series—they are just some of the titles we were heavily involved in. We have producers, artists, writers, programmers, level designers, and other people who had major impact on those AAA productions.

"After decades of creating titles that were dictated by so-called market demand, we've all reached a point when we decided to do something different—something that comes from 'us'. We also felt that the way the industry giants work is outdated. We want to adapt to a new way of working and fostering team work—an evolutionary approach described as Teal—where there are no predefined hierarchies or roles. It's time that we change the industry from the inside."

Although Strange New Things now has its own website, little is known about its debut venture besides a semi-cryptic blurb featured on the site's 'Project' section:

"This is the project name of our upcoming game that will be about [blank], which is set in [blank], from the perspective [blank]. This project holds a special place in our heart. It tells the story of a particular moment in a particular time and place. That moment made a huge impact on [blank]. It’s a story that happened many times before, and most likely will happen [blank]. But this is [blank's] story, and you can experience it [blank]. All will be revealed at the right time."

Very edgy.

Given the wide-reaching level of experience harnessed by Strange New Things, though, whatever it does come up with will most likely be worth keeping an eye on into the future. 

Thanks, gamesindustry.biz.