Former CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment, Mike Morhaime, along with other industry veterans, has unveiled a new game company called Dreamhaven, located in Irvine, CA.
Dreamhaven will both develop and publish new video games. Game development will take place in the company’s two new studios:
Moonshot and Secret Door.
Moonshot Games
The first of Dreamhaven’s studios, Moonshot, is led by Jason Chayes, Dustin Browder, and Ben Thompson.
Chayes was previously an Executive Producer at Blizzard Entertainment, where he led the Hearthstone team. He was also a Senior Director at Electronic Arts, and before that, led art teams for the Walt Disney Company’s game division.
Browder’s twenty-five-year career includes roles as Game Director on StarCraft 2, Heroes of the Storm, Command & Conquer, and The Lord of the Rings. Thompson’s credits include Creative Director on Hearthstone, Art Director for the World of Warcraft trading card game, with additional credits on Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering.
“When we think about Moonshot, we imagine a studio that celebrates curiosity and courage,” said Moonshot studio head Jason Chayes. “We aspire to be bold in our approach, and we think the best way to do that is to create a culture centered around trust. That’s at the heart of how we’d like to work together and also how we’d like to connect with players once we’re a bit further down the road.”
Secret Door
The second studio, Secret Door, is led by Chris Sigaty, Alan Dabiri, and Eric Dodds.
Sigaty’s roles have included Executive Producer on Hearthstone, StarCraft 2, and Heroes of the Storm, as well as Lead Producer on the original Warcraft 3. Dodds was the original Game Director of Hearthstone and a veteran game designer on World of Warcraft and StarCraft.
Dabiri has filled both Technical Director and Game Director roles and has worked on Warcraft 3, StarCraft 2, and Heroes of the Storm.
“At Secret Door, we are passionate about bringing players together in positive ways while building a sustainable home for creators, said Secret Door studio head Chris Sigaty. “Dreamhaven is providing everything we need to head into uncharted territory. We cannot wait for others to join us on our journey!”
The announcement didn’t share any information about the games the studios are working on, but concept art on the website pages suggest that Moonshot’s game will deal with building a contraption to fly to the moon. Meanwhile, Secret Door’s art suggests a pixel art RPG set in a fantasy universe.
Dreamhaven houses talented people with established records in fan-favorite games. The real challenge will be to create new IPs that will stand above the devs’ previous work.
I just hope Mike Morhaime didn’t take all the talent left in Blizzard.
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