Two former Respawn Entertainment developers have announced the establishment of a new AAA studio called Gravity Well. Drew McCoy was the senior producer on Titanfall 2 and the executive producer on Apex Legends. Jon Shiring was the senior programmer on Titanfall and the lead programmer for both Apex Legends and Titanfall 2.
While McCoy and Shiring are starting the studio in Los Angeles, Gravity Well will be a fully remote team, which is necessary anyway during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, Shiring states that increased diversity is one of the core values and doesn’t want relocation or work visa barriers preventing the best talent in the industry from joining.
I am beyond excited to announce Gravity Well – a new AAA studio @jonshiring and I are starting in Los Angeles! Its still early days, but if helping start a diverse and remote-native studio sounds interesting you should submit your resume at https://t.co/7mNxGk0XZE
— Drew McCoy (@DKo5) May 11, 2020
Gravity Well seeks to build a team of 80-85 people. McCoy says that employee health will be a top priority at the studio and that it will be an “anti-crunch” environment. Shiring mentions that they were not satisfied with how companies are often hesitant to fund projects that come with any creative risk, so their company aims to develop games that bring exclusively new ideas to the table.
Currently, Gravity Well is hiring across multiple different departments, including development roles such as animation, art, game design, engineering, and QA, as well as studio roles including HR, IT, and office. Additionally, the studio is open to considering other roles that aren’t listed if applicants bring relevant valuable experience.
