A new interview is shedding some light on what The Believer Company’s philosophy is and offers some hints on the open-world original IP game that they’re working on.
Believer received a significant funding round of $55 million to invest in their projects, and the interview, with GamesIndustry.biz, includes statements from several of the studio’s lead staff on why they decided to move forward with this, that significant investment, and their design philosophy and the unannounced original project.
The Believer Company was formed last year, and this week’s announcement definitely brings up a lot of questions. Founded by, and with a core team mostly of former Riot Games staff, they understand that there are now some potentially big expectations baked into that investment amount and their initially stated goals. Many teams build open worlds, to varying levels of success, but they are thinking longer-term.
“We want to take the time to get it right, because world-class R&D takes time. It requires a lot of risk-taking, it requires both creation and discovery, which are subtly but importantly different,” says CEO Michael Chow.
As for what they’re working on, some might sound familiar, as in “stories where player choices matter”, along with a dash of creating systems that work to “bring players together rather than pushing them apart”.
Later in the interview, some more hints come from Chief Product Officer Steven Snow, who says the team is building something with social players in mind, emphasize playing with friends, and offers lots of room for more casual players without diminishing the experience.
“We are excited to build systems that don't expect 100% engagement from everyone,” he says.
One of the other goals for the company is to expand its new original Ip Beyond gaming, and to potentially develop it for other forms of entertainment. What they are working on is building a franchise, one step at a time. One of the key investors they have is Tornante, founded by former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, who Believer points to as a solid partner in those plans.
With projects like Edgerunners, the acclaimed anime based on Cyberpunk 2077, and adaptations like League of Legends’ own animated spinoff, Arcane, and even EVE Online comic books show the potential for storytelling within a wider franchise.
Believer is taking its time, with a financial plan that could keep them funded for up to five years if they need that long, but they’re looking to reveal their work much sooner.
