Industry veteran Patrick Söderlund, best known for his leadership roles at EA and on DICE’s Battlefield, announced his departure earlier this year. Now we know what he’s been working on, thanks to Nexon’s most recent earnings call.
It was revealed the publisher famous for its PC and mobile games, such as Mape Story and Dungeon & Fighter, have invested in Söderlund’s new studio called Embark and will act as worldwide publisher for its games.
It’s still early, so not much was revealed about Embark’s upcoming products, but Söderlund did give some insight into his goals. “I believe games are on the cusp of changing radically, thanks to new technologies,” he said in a press release. “Connected players, big data, speech recognition, cloud computing, advanced AI and more will open up new play, enabling developers to build a wider range of experiences, and for players to create and contribute. Embark is a group of veteran creators eager to move beyond current play experiences into the future.”
Söderlund founded Embark Studios to create “new types of interactive entertainment” that mostly focus on simulated online virtual worlds. He wants to take advantage of new technology, particularly across streaming, cloud computing, and A.I. The company is creating its own technology platform to accomplish this.
“What remains scarce is the ability to make deeply engaging online virtual worlds that appeal to a broad global audience that can grow for many years, ” said Nexon president and CEO Owen Mahoney. “The formation of Embark represents one of the most exciting developments for the future of online games.”
For why his new studio teamed up with Nexon, Söderlund added, “The partnership between Embark Studios and Nexon is built on a deeply aligned vision about the future of interactive entertainment, and about challenging the standard conventions and practices of how to create. Also, Nexon’s global leadership in nurturing online game worlds and communities for many years is critical to our mission.”
To learn more about Söderlund’s new studio, you can visit its official site here.
