FUTURLAB COMES OF AGE AND APPOINTS CHRIS MEHERS TO THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM AS COOFUTURLAB COMES OF AGE AND APPOINTS CHRIS MEHERS TO THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM AS COO

Author: FuturLab

Brighton, UK - 17 March 2022 - FuturLab – the creator of one of the indie genre’s earliest hit games, Velocity and lockdown’s surprise hit, PowerWash Simulator - is celebrating 18 years of operation and has appointed industry veteran Chris Mehers to the role of Chief Operating Officer. Mehers’ key objectives will be to look after the wellbeing of the studio’s employees whilst adding systems and processes to facilitate FuturLab’s ambitions for further IP creation. He will focus on four key areas:  people and values, operations and execution, commercial opportunities and business development.

FuturLab’s portfolio includes the acclaimed arcade speedrunning series Velocity (which includes Velocity, Velocity Ultra, and Velocity 2X - which received a 90 Metacritic score for its 2014 PlayStation Vita release), Peaky Blinders: Mastermind, Mini-Mech Mayhem and Tiny Trax. In May 2021 FuturLab and Square Enix Collective released PowerWash Simulator in early access of Steam to huge critical success - exceeding commercial expectations within 2 months, and has developed a loyal user base with many players spending over 20 hours engaging with the title. 

Looking ahead, FuturLab has partnered with Thunderful to create an all-new sci-fi adventure, a stylish, high-intensity third-person combat game and spiritual successor to Velocity. 

Chris brings a wealth of operational experience in building teams and studios, having led both DPS Games as Studio Director and before that Edge Case Games. Chris will join the studio’s founders, James Marsden and Kirsty Rigden, and follows the appointment of industry veteran Tom Stone as non-exec Chairman of the board.  

As COO, Chris’ mission will be to build upon past successes and expand the studio with a view to creating more FuturLab titles whilst maintaining the studio’s unique value system and work ethics. The studio has already doubled in size - recruiting a second development team to work on the Thunderful project and increasing the PowerWash Simulator team. Moreover, Elliot Greenwood has been appointed to the role of Business Development & Licensing Manager. 

Speaking about his appointment, Chris Mehers said: 
“I am completely committed to the core principles at the heart of FuturLab, there is a special culture here, which has been quite organic up to now because the studio was small, but with over 40 people and ambitions to grow further, we need key people and systems in place to help preserve the magic.”  

Reflecting on FuturLab’s eighteenth year, and looking to the future, Founder and Co-CEO James Marsden added: 
“Chris brings decades of experience and a well-honed people-first sensibility that we needed in a COO. Having spent the last six months working together, witnessing how Chris treats individuals, I believe he is perfectly suited to help FuturLab reach its goals, whilst still remaining true to the core values and creative processes we have developed over the last 18 years.” “PowerWash Simulator has given us the luxury of choosing what to do next - and now that we’ve reached the milestone birthday of 18, we’ve wondered how great the studio can become. Thanks to PowerWash Simulator, we have time to find out.”

ENDS 

For media enquiries:
Stefano Petrullo – Renaissance PR
[email protected] 
+44 (0) 7828 692 315

Sophie Carter - Renaissance PR
[email protected]
+44 (0) 7810 848 320

About FuturLab 
FuturLab is a boutique, award-winning game studio based in Brighton, UK. We have developed and published remarkable games on PC and console since 2003. We are best known for Velocity 2X, Tiny Trax, Mini-Mech Mayhem and Peaky Blinders: Mastermind and we're currently working on the highly anticipated PowerWash Simulator. We believe that healthy and happy teams create the best games, which is why we promote a positive working environment with many benefits and zero crunch. futurlab.co.uk
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