Codemasters director Anthony Castoro starts a new MMOG studio.
Anthony Castoro, who most recently served as Director of MMO Games at Codemasters, and serial entreprenuer Donn Clendenon announced the opening of a new games studio entitled Heatwave Interactive. While at Codemasters, Castoro managed major massively-multiplayer projects, such Star Wars: Galaxies and Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach.
With Heatwave Interactive, he hopes to rejuvenate the genre. “This in not just another MMO company. … The current crop of massively multiplayer games only provides a glimpse into the power of connected gaming. Heatwave Interactive’s mission is to create original games that unite the power of online gaming with the excitement of traditional single-player video games.”
When asked about the potential mechanics of uniting online gaming and solo experiences, he replied, “[The Crossing by Arkane Studios] is an excellent example of how games can leverage the networked features in cool and unique ways without being ‘MMOs.’ … MMOs are sort’ve the ‘mini-van’ of online games. They’re designed for big groups and are supposed to fulfill multiple roles adequately. That’s all well and good, but y’know, sometimes you want to do fewer things much better.”
Despite his background in online titles, Castoro has not limited his new startup to them. “I suppose it’s only natural that people assume that we will be building MMO titles, because of my background, and the reference to MMOs in the press release. However, we have several projects in the concept stage, and less than half of them are traditional MMOs. They all have cool online components, yes, but they are not MMOs. So absolutely, non-MMO titles are on the table, and not necessarily ‘in the future’.”
Console development has not been ruled out either. “We will develop for consoles. Absolutely.”
