Sumo Digital, an independent game studio based in Sheffield, UK, announced they’ve taken on CCP Games’ Newcastle studio, the branch primarily involved in the production of EVE: Valkyrie (2016).
When CCP announced they were shutting down their VR game-producing studios, the fate of EVE: Valkyrie and Sparc (2017) were less than certain. At the time, CCP said that while the Atlanta-based studio behind Sparc would be dissolved, the development team at the Newcastle studio would remain intact despite an impending acquisition, and that work on the game’s Winter Update would continue even in the midst of the move.
The Winter Update, which included a new map and the ability to create custom matches, followed the larger Warzone Update which extended support to non-VR players on PS4 and PC.
In an official announcement, Sumo says they’ve taken on 34 CCP staff members who will remain in New Castle with Owen O’Brien as Studio Director. O’Brien joined CCP in 2013 as executive producer of the fledgling Valkyrie, coming from EA’s DICE studio in Stockholm.
”Sumo Digital is a great home for the team in Newcastle,” said Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, CEO of CCP Games. “As we say goodbye to our former colleagues we know that they will do great things there, and we can’t wait to see what they do next.”
Paul Porter, Managing Director of Sumo Digital said, “As we continue to expand this was a great opportunity to bring an experienced, talented and tight-knit team on board.”
Sumo is most recently known for their puzzle platform game Snake Pass (2017), and has worked on a number of sequels to big franchises such as Forza, Little Big Planet, Crackdown, and Sonic.
