MMO developer Turbine (
Dungeons & Dragons Online,
The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar) opened a new studio in Redwood City, CA, an expansion meant to complement its East Coast operations in Westwood, MA, where the company is based.
Turbine also announced the appointments of Dave Brevik as creative director, Jeff Lind as engineering director, and Matt McKnight as West Coast studio director of the California studio.
Brevik previously served as chief visionary officer at
near-defunct Flagship Studios (
Hellgate: London), which he also co-founded after spending seven years as both president for Blizzard North and as a director of Blizzard Entertainment.
Prior to Turbine, Lind led Flagship's online services subsidiary, Ping0. Additionally, he worked for six years at Electronic Arts, where he contributed to franchises like
The Sims and
The Lord of the Rings, as well as alternate reality game
Majestic.
McKnight's résumé includes his roles as CEO and president of Sniper Studios (
Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars). Before that, he worked at Electronic Arts for over ten years on series such as
Madden and
James Bond.
"The opening of our West Coast studio is a major milestone in Turbine’s long-term growth plans as it allows us to complement the outstanding talent we have on the East Coast with the pool of extraordinary talent available on the West Coast,” says Turbine president and CEO Jim Crowley.
He continues: "We are delighted that Dave, Jeff and Matt have joined us in this effort and we look forward to further announcements as we continue to expand this team."
