Blizzard alumni set up new studio, begin work on Riot funded game

Pardo notes that Blizzard’s collectible card game Hearthstone served as the inspiration for Bonfire Studios, as the small size of the game’s creative team eliminated numerous managerial roadblocks normally associated with the development of online multiplayer projects. “Game developers live the dream scenario where passion meets work”, the Medium post adds. We want friends to connect through our games and share incredible experiences, tell the stories, and come closer together. “I feel like that team’s culture was one of the strongest”. According to the New York Times, Pardo raised a combined $25 million from Riot Games and Andreessen Horowitz. “We really want to create games that help us make those deeper connections with each other”. Having a smaller team to work with was something that Pardo felt helped make the developers feel more in-tune with what they were doing and it helped in creating something worthwhile. They’ll start with $25 million United States dollars in venture capital from different investors – including Riot Games (League of Legends), and John Riccitiello (former EA chief executive, now working with Unity).

Bonfire is based in Irvine, California, which is where Blizzard is based. Pardo, 46, says it is safe to assume the company will make online multiplayer games, though he has not yet decided whether it will create them for mobile devices, PCs or both. “They’re pretty uncompromising when it comes to quality”.

It wouldn’t be a stretch to assume Rob Pardo is going to try and focus on a Hearthstone sized development team for Bonfire’s projects.

The Bonfire team already features an impressive list of names, including former Diablo III creative director Josh Mosqueira, fellow Blizzard alumnus Nick Carpenter, ex Battle.net director Matthew Versluys, and former Nexon America CEO Min Kim.

“We don’t want to be constrained by genre”, Pardo told The New York Times.