CastAR Open A New Studio Headed By A Former Disney Infinity Developer

Following the closure of Avalanche Studios by Disney when Infinity was cancelled, a new studio called CastAR Salt Lake City has been formed and has recruited some of the former developers of the game.

CastAR also recruited former LucasArts chief Darrell Rodriguez as CEO and former Disney executive Steve Parkis as its president last month. While no details have been officially confirmed about how many former Avalance Studios employees have been taken on, this new studio has more than doubled the size of the CastAR development team, but it’s not clear yet exactly how many people CastAR is hiring. That’s the first big move since CastAR recruited former LucasArts chief Darrell Rodriguez as CEO and former Disney executive Steve Parkis as president and chief operating officer last month.

Overall, CastAR now employs more than 70 people. At its peak, Avalanche Software was about 240 people under Disney. So that leaves a lot of talented people still on the market in Salt Lake City.

CastAR started as a research project by Valve technologists Ellsworth and Johnson to build augmented reality glasses, which can overlay animations and other imagery on top of the real world. “Our new CastAR SLC team has creatively-inspired talent that has delivered at the highest levels of quality. We’re excited to have them join us in creating a new generation of gaming through mixed reality experiences,” said Parkis, in a statement. “With their experience in bringing massive franchises to life through breakthrough interactive design, the addition of this team is our next bold step in launching a dynamic platform that will bring awe-inspiring mixed reality to households.”

Our Take:

It’s great to hear some of the former Disney Infinity team have been able to secure new work and hopefully with their history of dealing with large franchises like Disney, this company can come up with some amazing products.