TTK Games, headed up by former EA DICE and Battlefield developer Lars Gustavvson, has formed to make “a new next-generation online shooter.”
We don’t get supergroups – bands founded by rock stars famous from performing in other, stadium-filling bands – anymore. But we do get new studios like TTK Games, which is perhaps the video game industry’s equivalent of the Traveling Wilburys.
As announced via a splashy press release replete with professional black-and-white photos, TTK Games – full name: Time To Kill Games – comprises a bunch of veterans from EA DICE and the Battlefield franchise. That studio was recently set up in Stockholm, the press release tells us, to create “a new, high-quality next-generation online shooter.”
A quick look at the co-founders’ development history will likely provide some clues as to what they’re making.
Creative director and CEO Lars Gustavsson (pictured above in moody monochrome) was previously the creative lead on the Battlefield franchise. Senior design director Daniel Berlin has worked on Battlefield 1 and Far Cry 3. Vidar Nygren (technical director and CTO) and Peter Hoyles (art director) are also grizzled Battlefield veterans.
“For players, the phrase ‘Time to Kill’ defines how a shooter feels and how fast it plays,” said Gustavsson, in a quote which leans heavily on the words ‘killing’ and ‘time’. “We’ve made it our studio name and part of our studio culture. For us the term ‘TTK’ isn’t just about the craftmanship behind finding the perfect speed or immediacy of a game – it’s about how human beings have been killing time through play for thousands of years.
“Throughout my career I’ve made games to encourage teamwork, friendly competition and using your mind and reflexes to accomplish a goal and outwit your opponent. We are passionate about videogames, because we think there’s no better way to kill time.”
With all this talk of killing, we’re guessing that TTK isn’t in the process of making its own rival to Splatoon. More news on the studio’s progress as we get it.
