London, UK-based Maze Theory is currently working on two big virtual reality (VR) IP’s, Doctor Who: The Edge of Time which is due for release next month, and Peaky Blinders: The Kings Ransom which is coming out in 2020. To help with development, the studio has announced several new hires to massively expand its current team.
Maze Theory has added six new staff to its employee roster, each with a strong videogame pedigree, some even in VR. Joining the team from Sony London Studio are Ciaran Devine and Victoria Goldsmith both of whom worked on PlayStation VR’s Blood & Truth. Devine joins as Lead Technical Artist, helping build and deliver major technologies, project infrastructure and production workflow. While Goldsmith joins Maze Theory as an Environment Artist, working on Doctor Who then leading the development of environments for Peaky Blinders.
Russell Watson joins from Splash Damage as a Technical Designer to work on the systems, tools and AI for Peaky Blinders. He has previously worked on Gears: Tactics, Touch Surgery, Strike Suit Zero, Fable 3 and The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest. Coming on as Lead Character Artist is Leroy Simpson, who has worked on AAA projects at Rockstar, Square Unix, Ubisoft and Lionhead, with Red Dead Redemption 2 is the most recent. Simpson will be leading character development on Peaky Blinders.
Claire Boissiere will serve as consultant Project Director for Maze Theory’s recent innovation grant, helping develop AI technology that will respond to the players’ gestures, sound and body language, which will form the core of the Peaky Blinders: The King’s Ransom experience. Also working on Peaky Blinders is Dave Fiala as Technical Animator, heading up the animation pipeline for the videogame. Fiala’s previous work includes Batman: Arkham, SpecOps: The Line and Dirty Bomb.
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“The quality – and quantity – of new hires is testament to the amazing amount of buzz and activity around the studio. Maze Theory is working with huge franchises such as Doctor Who and Peaky Blinders and we have a lot to deliver for fans and VR gaming enthusiasts,” says Maze Theory Executive Producer, Russell Harding in a statement. “To keep our promise to create game-changing VR experiences, we need to have best people out there. We are very excited to be pushing the boundaries of VR and taking it to the next level.”
Doctor Who: The Edge of Time is expected to be the biggest VR experience based on the franchise to date, so anticipation is high. When Maze Theory confirms a launch date for September, VRFocus will let you know.