Namco Hometek Appoints New PC Guru

Officials from Namco Hometek, the US development studio of the famed Japanese publisher, have announced that the company has appointed Grantley Day as its new director of PC development. Day was formerly the Director of Development for the now EA-owned Maxis, and will be tasked with furthering the company’s existing partnership with Flagship Studios. Flagship Studios was formed by a number of ex-Blizzard staff last year and signed a publishing deal with Namco in March this year. Though the nature of the games involved have still not been revealed, the team's experience with the Diablo series in particular suggests an online-enabled action game of some type. "As Namco expands its games business onto the PC platform, it is critical for us to find the best talent in the industry," said Nobuhiro Kasahara, president and CEO of Namco Hometek. "Grantley Day brings tremendous experience in developing cutting-edge online and multiplayer gaming technology, which is vital to Namco's future success in the PC games market." Although Namco Hometek revealed significant internal development layoffs relating to console projects earlier this month, it has frequently spoken of its desire to become a leading PC publisher and developer, with the Japanese parent company showing increasing interest in the format.