PopCap alumni launch new F2P studio Electric Manta in London

Former PopCap executive Mark Cochrane has rounded up a number of his fellow PopCap teammates to kickstart a new free-to-play game studio in London, UK. The studio is called Electric Manta.

Electric Manta’s formation was announced via an interview with GamesBeat, where the team talked about their goals for the company and what they’d like to do in the free-to-play space.

Cochrane’s fellow former PopCap collaborators include Elizabeth Sampat, Alexis De Girolami, and Liam Robinson, with former Zynga exec Gaurav Mehta and Stewart Perry, former head of tech and tools at Kwalhee.

The team explained to Gamesbeat that they’re lining up some “interesting partnerships” to be announced in the coming weeks. “A lot of people have been exposed to hypercasual over three-to-five years and they are probably wanting something more as they evolve as players toward the casual spectrum,” Cochran told the site.

Sampat told GamesBeat that she’s interested in pushing the boundaries of what’s possible for narrative experiences in mobile games, and telling stories that appeal to “her own demographic.”