EA veterans net $3.5 million to create debut project at new studio Fuzzybot

Fuzzybot, a new studio formed by EA veterans, has raised $3.5 million in seed funding from Bitkraft Ventures to finance its debut project.

The nascent company was co-founded by Tatyana Dyshlova and Max Spielberg--who previously worked at EA as lead producer and designer director, respectively--and officially opened last year.

The core team includes former leads from AAA studios like Bungie, Ubisoft, and Retro Studios, and has been tasked with creating "ambitious cross-genre co-op games that are deep, repayable, and socially creative."

Fuzzybot's first project is being pitched as a long-lasting co-op experience called a "roguelife" that blends combat and progression mechanics with other elements pulled from the roguelite and life sim genres.

Studio CEO Tatyana Dyshlova said Fuzzybot intends to scale-up its development team while avoiding the pitfalls of "high-crunch culture."

"The games industry is notorious for its inflexible high-crunch culture and we are determined to chart a new path in how our company operates and brings games to market," said the chief exec. "We value the collaborative speed that comes from working within a small team and look to capitalize on the benefits that a remote studio can provide."