Batman Arkham City is the gold standard of superhero titles. It came when superhero titles were infamous for being poorly made and used as cheap promotional materials tied to movies. There were some exceptions to that rule, but by and large, it applied to a lot of the titles that were released for various consoles.
Rocksteady developed the game, and the studio took off after being known for creating the best superhero trilogy in the industry. Now, news has broken that two former founders of the studio, Sefton Hill and Jamie Walker, have started their video game studio. This could imply that we could see a title matching the quality of Batman Arkham City in the future from the studio. Their new venture is called Hundred Star Games.
Cofounders of Rocksteady responsible for Suicide Squad & Batman: Arkham Games start Hundred Star Games
It is not an uncommon sight for cofounders and stakeholders from the biggest studios to start their ventures for various reasons. Initially reported by Polygon, this seems to be the case with Sefton Hill and Jamie Walker. The duo was previously at Rocksteady and had worked on the Batman Arkham games at the studio and the upcoming Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Based out of London, the studio is called Hundred Star Games because it will have only a hundred industry veterans and emerging talents. The studio hasn’t been announced but is listed on the corporate website Endole. The duo formed by Hill and Walker are listed on the website as studio directors.
Also, it is hiring for open positions and is currently reported to have only one-fourth of the total positions filled with 25 employees. The total workforce was reported by the studio’s profile on Great Place to Work, a website specializing in making a company’s work culture known. The studio’s ethos is described on the website as:
a small team of only 100 industry veterans and emerging talents, who are committed to crafting cutting-edge gaming experiences that inspire and captivate players worldwide.
A handful of lead developers and director-level employees previously at the studio responsible for the Arkhamverse have resigned to join an unannounced studio. If one tries to connect the dots, the chances of the unannounced studio being Hundred Star are numerous.
Chances are Hill and Walker want to bolster their team and prepare a core as fast as possible to show the world what Hundred Star Games can achieve. This was also reported by Polygon and was extrapolated from the LinkedIn Profiles of many employees who were previously working with Rocksteady.
Both Hill and Walker resigned from their previous workplace in 2022, when Kill the Justice League, the studio’s upcoming project, was still in the works. This was after an 18-year-long stint with the studio. Sefton Hill was the studio’s creative director, and Jamie Walker was the studio director.
It was concerning for two top-level executives to leave the studio while a game was still being worked on. Regardless, the WB Interactive Entertainment boss ensured fans that the title wouldn’t be affected by the duo’s departure as it was finished. The fact that both Hill and Walker left the studio in 2022 and the title was pushed ahead a couple of times after that might imply that the game underwent some changes after the duo’s departure.
Also, the title has been receiving some flack for its live service structure and the fact that it has successfully destroyed the legacy built by the Arkham titles. This is also because some fans didn’t like that the studio isn’t doing what they do best: create single-player experiences.
Let us know what you think of the news that Hundred Star Studios has been established and of Rocksteady’s upcoming title in the comment section below.
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