Indie publisher North Beach Games is expanding its borders in Europe with the establishment of a brand new in-house development studio in Prague. The new studio, called North Beach Games Prague, will allow the San Rafael, California-based publisher to develop games in-house.
North Beach Games has carved out a niche as a specialist in the survival crafting genre. It is best known for providing publishing services to 7 Days to Die. In July, the open world survival horror FPS made the leap to consoles and set a new concurrent player record on Steam.
On August 27, the team will launch Free Range Games Lord of the Rings: Return to MoriaThe title is part of a license agreement concluded with Middle-earth Enterprises.
North Beach Games Prague sees the publisher return to familiar waters. In 2015, the company published Stranded Deep. The new studio will bring in Stranded Deep creator Sam Edwards as CTO. Together with North Beach Games Prague’s CEO Tomáš Pšenička, he will lead the studio’s mostly Czech-based team.
Join GamesBeat Next!
GamesBeat Next is bringing together the next generation of video game leaders. And you can join us on October 28th and 29th in San Francisco! Take advantage of our buy-one-get-one-free pass offer. The sale ends on Friday, August 16th. Sign up by signing up here.
“We are super excited to start development of Stranded Deep 2 with our new
development team, North Beach Games Prague,” said Edwards, creative director and
chief technology officer of North Beach Games. “Tomáš and his talented team will be a great partner to help build out the studio as we look to the future of the franchise and explore new horizons.”
Naturally, the studio plans to tread familiar ground with Stranded Deep 2. Details about the sequel are scarce, but players will still have to survive a plane crash. The original sold millions of copies and eventually made its way to consoles and gained multiplayer.
“We are very pleased to welcome Sam and Tomáš to the North Beach Games,
“We are excited to be leading our new Prague development studio,” said John Miller, CEO of North Beach Games. “We’ve worked with both of them as partners for years, so it’s a great feeling to all be on the same team and it will allow us to do even more exciting work together in the survival crafting space. After all the volatility in the market and the industry over the past year, it feels like the right time to begin this next chapter of our business, charting our own path toward a positive future for our company.”