Former Multiversus devs fund independent studio Airlock Games
Former Multiversus developers have funded a new independent studio called Airlock Games.
Via a press release, the self-funded studio is spearheaded by co-founders Justin Fischer and Brock Feldman. Fischer was the production director at Player First Games, the studio that worked on Multiversus, while Feldman was the Technical Director.
"We've spent years working on high-profile AAA titles, but we missed the wonderful, reckless creativity of more focused games," the developers said in the announcement. Previous experience includes Phoenix Labs, Riot Games, Warner Bros. Games, EA, and Disney Interactive, among others.
"It's a space where we can focus on providing new experiences that interest us both as players and developers. We're so excited to have the freedom to take creative risks, push boundaries, and tell stories that just aren't feasible for AAA productions."
'We've collectively been laid off eleven times'Warner Bros. acquired Player First Games back in July 2024. Four months later, during an investor call, CEO David Zaslav and CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels said that Multiversus performed under expectations alongside Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions, which released in September 2024. According to the financial report, both titles added another $100 million loss to the game division, which had already seen a $200 million loss from Suicide Squad.
In January of this year, Warner Bros. announced it'd be shutting down Multiversus on May 30. "All of us on the Player First Games and Warner Bros. Games teams have poured our heart and soul into this game," read the announcement at the time.
In the about section of the studio's site, the co-founders speak at length about their past experiences working in the AAA space, and how they're planning to move away from it.
"Watching a bunch of legacy companies respond to emerging market challenges by laying off tens of thousands of our peers (and us!) to prop up quarterly numbers. Watching them announce strategies that are entirely dependent on a dwindling list of over-used IP, sugar coated with trite expressions like, 'surprise and delight our fans.' Watching them run away from innovation like it was the plague. And watching them continue to fail and continue to double down," reads the statement.
Airlock Games currently has an active Kickstarter campaign for its first project, called What the Stars Forgot. In the press release, the studio says it's committed to providing "shorter playtimes" at lower price point, understanding the time restrictions of players today.
The co-founders are also seemingly embracing this approach for the way they develop games, saying that they're working in a "more flexible, experimental space with the capacity to complete titles in under a year."
