Shift 2 Dev Slightly Mad Talks New Social, Mobile OffshootShift 2 Dev Slightly Mad Talks New Social, Mobile Offshoot

Author: by Eric Caoili, Kris Graft

London-based Need For Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed developer Slightly Mad Studios has formed a new offshoot called Gamagio, which will focus on social and mobile games. Studio business development director Dom Duhan told Gamasutra in a phone interview, "It's an offshoot rather than a replacement [for triple-A game focused Slightly Mad]. ... We're branching out to try to bring some really cool content, like we did on the triple-A side." "Slightly Mad is still going, that's still a huge deal, and it's still producing triple-A titles. We're just trying to spread our wings a bit," he added. The founding of a social and mobile games business seems like a departure for Slightly Mad, whose founders have roots in racing sims. But Duhan said even with non-racing social titles, "It's still gameplay, it's still creating interesting games for people. ... I know that they know how to make a good game." More than 50 employees are working on multiple titles that will begin releasing to the social space this summer. The developer boasts a social gaming engine that supports HTML5 technology and plug-in free 3D graphics standards like WebGL. Gamagio's cross-platform engine, which it says was "built from the ground up," also supports both Apple's iOS and Google's Android devices. The studio said mobile games "form a major part of the Gamagio portfolio" and has several mobile titles planned. Duhan said the studio has about 10 game ideas for Gamagio with a couple in actual development. The company is not starting off its new business with racing titles. "[Social and mobile is] a new market for us, don't get me wrong, but we're coming from an angle which we hope is going to be fresh and dynamic," he said. Slightly Mad is best known for developing Electronic Arts-published Need for Speed: Shift and Need for Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed (releasing later this month) for traditional consoles and PCs. Ian Bell, who founded Slightly Mad in 2009 and serves as the company's CEO, will also head Gamagio. "Gamagio is creating new gaming experiences, new ways to play and interact, and we see social and mobile gaming as key to that," Bell said in a statement. Duhan said the burgeoning social and mobile gaming market is getting too big to ignore. "There's a huge market there, the market is changing as well. It's good to be in it," he said.