Infinity Ward founders and Modern Warfare creators Vince Zampella and Jason West may have formed a new games studio, but don't go expecting anything from them for a long time. They're too busy...buying furniture.
Yes, while everyone's always figured the pair's debut game for new developers Respawn would be a few years off, it's easy to forget just why that is, and how much work goes into setting up an entirely new studio. It's a lot more than just finding people. Those people need somewhere to sit.
"The thing everybody needs to remember is they were starting at absolute zero," EA's David DeMartini told Eurogamer.
"This is two guys who really know what they're doing having to go find a place for the team, buy chairs and desks and furniture, find new technology from the ground up, and pull a team together. I need to get HR people and contracts. There are all kinds of things and administration that need to take place."
"Amongst all that administration they've pulled together the core of a fantastic team and they're starting to work on a whole bunch of ideas to try and find what is going to be the one right idea for us."
If they want to try something a little different from angry men with guns, sounds like a game studio-building simulator would be a good place to start. Like Theme Park and Theme Hospital, only with pizza, longer working hours and police states.
EA: COD creators' game a long way off [Eurogamer]