Mass Effect writer Mac Walters has announced Worlds Untold, a brand-new studio created in partnership with Chinese gaming giant NetEase.
According to an announcement post on the studio's new official website, Worlds Untold will focus on creating "AAA action-adventure games with an emphasis on narrative and worldbuilding".
The studio is apparently already hard at work on its debut title, which will take the form of a "near-future action-adventure game in a breathtaking world filled with mystery and exploration".
Other veterans joining Walters at Worlds Untold include audio director Sotaro Tojima, who's worked on franchises like Metal Gear and Halo, as well as head of production Elizabeth Lehtonen, whose credits include Anthem and Dragon Age: Inquisition.
The studio's head of technology is Ben Goldstein, who led the Xbox One edition of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. Its head of art will be Mass Effect Andromeda and Anthem's Ramil Sunga.
It looks like Walters is building a who's-who of folks who worked at or alongside BioWare, so if you're longing for a return to the golden age of BioWare games, this could be it. Only time will tell.
Walters is just one of several industry veterans to form studios alongside NetEase in recent months.
Others include former Dragon Quest producer Ryutaro Ichimura, ex-Ubisoft producer Sean Crooks, and former Capcom producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi, as well as Yakuza (now known as Like a Dragon) creator Toshihiro Nagoshi.
According to Walters, NetEase shares his studio's "vision and passion to utilize leading edge technology to create the best possible new games".
For his part, NetEase global investments and partnerships president Simon Zhu says his studio "believes in empowering creators to think outside the box and to help execute their vision as seamlessly as possible".
We'll have to wait and see what Mac Walters and Worlds Untold create. Watch this space for more info.
