Former Runic, Gearbox Devs Form “Community-Driven” Studio, Monster Squad

By Vikki Blake

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Alumni from Gearbox and Runic confirmed on Thursday that they have come together to form new Seattle studio, Monster Squad .

Focusing on “community-driven gaming”, the team includes developers who were “part of the creative foundations for the ‘Torchlight’ and ‘Borderland’ series of games”. They include four former team members from Runic Games: Patrick Blank (creative director), John Dunbar (gameplay director), Allen Fong (CEO), and Marsh Lefler (studio head).

Previously lead level designer on “Borderlands”, Blank has also “brought over former Gearbox colleagues” to join the start-up studio.

“Some of our fondest memories developing games come from when we were working on ‘Mythos’, our precursor to ‘Torchlight’,” Lefler said in a statement . “What started out as a small network test ballooned into a full-fledged online Action-RPG because of the community that played it. We’re excited to get back to that.”

“Today, there are more ways to reach out and interact with players than ever before. This is an amazing time to be building a new studio that creates original gaming experiences with our community.”

Monster Squad is reportedly working on its first game but as yet, the studio has not shared details about the “new IP” currently in development.