Foundation 9 To Merge Collective And Shiny Studios

Independent developer collective Foundation 9 (Death Jr.) has announced new plans to consolidate its Collective and Shiny teams into one larger yet-unnamed team, which it says "will enable greater capacity to create large-scale games based on big licensed properties." The company says the teams have already relocated to a new 60,000 square foot Irvine, California headquarters, and adds that the change "will not create any redundancies." Former Shiny studio manager and new studio head Michael Persson said of the move, "At this scale we now have the resources to truly distinguish ourselves as the go to developer for complete sku lines from next-gen to current gen and PSP." The two studios are currently finishing work various titles, including Shiny's multiplatform title The Golden Compass for holiday release by Sega, and, says the release, the Collective's "large next-generation adaptation of a classic gaming franchise due for release in 2008" -- presumably its recently revealed collaboration with Konami on Silent Hill 5. In August, the company announced that British developer Sumo Digital, best known for Sega’s Virtua Tennis 3 and OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast, would be joining the company. Said F9 COO David Mann, "Bringing the Shiny and Collective teams together into one larger studio will give them the scale and resources needed to deliver top-notch franchise-based releases across multiple platforms. We've already moved everyone under one roof, which will help to make a seamless transition for both teams."