Tantalus Opens New Australian Studio

Australian developer Tantalus (Cars: Mater National, Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon) has announced plans to open a new studio in Brisbane. Originally founded in 1994 in Melbourne, the developer has shipped more than 30 titles across most major platforms -– specializing in licensed and portable titles. The Melbourne office currently employs 70 staffers working on new titles for the Wii, Nintendo DS and PSP, but decided to open new offices rather than to expand the current ones. "I like the idea of capping our Melbourne base at around 80 developers," said CEO Tom Crago. "We’re on track to grow to that level by next year, and in Brisbane we’ll endeavor to replicate the model that’s been so successful for us down here. In the first instance, the Brisbane studio will work on a DS title, expanding to two teams by the end of next year." COO David Giles and will head up the Brisbane studio when it opens in December. "With the help of the Queensland Government, we’ve found a terrific location in Kelvin Grove, and feel that the talent pool up there will enable us very quickly to assemble a world class group of developers," said Giles. "In fact, we’ve already made several key hires." The announcement comes in the same week that the annual Australian game developers conference (GCAP) is due to open in Brisbane. The conference will run from 19th to 22nd November, and interested parties can find further info at the event's official website.