Kuju Comes To America With New Casual Studio

UK-based Kuju Entertainment (Battalion Wars) has announced the opening of a new San Francisco studio focusing on the casual games space, marking the developer's first American presence. The new studio, Kuju America, which is "currently working on a high profile IP due to be announced soon", according to the official Kuju website, will be led by industry veteran John Kavanagh. Kavanagh began his career as a programmer at Atari, and later worked with Eidos as publisher, signing brands including Deus Ex, Hitman and Thief, and ran their US studio, Crystal Dynamics. Kuju has created a number of specialized studios in recent months: its Sheffield-based Chemistry focuses on Unreal Engine-developed titles, while its Brighton-based Zoe Mode announced its new Guildford studio, Doublesix, staffed primarily by the teams behind Geometry Wars: Galaxies and PlayStation Network release Nucleus, along with the nearby kids-focused studio Nik Nak. Said Kavanagh, "I've known Kuju and the management team for many years and I really approve of their model of multiple autonomous studios. I'm looking forward to making Kuju America the next successful Kuju studio."