Midway Newcastle Vets Form New Concept Agency

Former employees from shuttered Wheelman house Midway Newcastle announced this week Atomhawk Design, a new Gateshead, UK-based startup specializing in digital art and consultancy. The formation of Atomhawk comes shortly after Chicago-based parent Midway Games closed Midway Newcastle, which was in the middle of developing a new game titled Necessary Force. Atomhawk's Twitter account stated that the founders of the startup "are ex-Midway Newcastle artists behind Necessary Force." Leading the studio is its director, Cumron Ashtiani. According to Atomhawk's official website, Ashtiani most recently worked on Midway Newcastle's Wheelman as art director. Other founding members include Pete Thompson and Corlen Kruger (lead concept artists), and Steven Pick (lead graphic designer). The company also said that it is "working with companies on games rather than a game itself," although the company is "not ruling out games in the future." Atomhawk is currently keep its projects under wraps, but claims the work it is doing is for "a number of top tier clients." Lead graphic designer Pick was a senior GUI artist for Midway Newcastle. He chronicled the downfall of the studio following its July shuttering, describing ups and downs as work continued until virtually the day the studio was closed. Midway declared bankruptcy earlier this year, and was subsequently acquired by Warner Bros.