Cavia plans new Xbox game

TOKYO--Japanese developer Cavia has begun work on a new Xbox title and is looking for additional employees, according to major Japanese recruitment Web site Recunavi. The game studio is seeking programmers for the Xbox who have experience in developing 3D games in programming languages C and C++. The company is also continuing to recruit in the field of directors, game designers, computer graphics designers, and PlayStation 2 programmers.

Cavia has developed several well-known titles for a variety of companies, such as Resident Evil: Dead Aim (Capcom, PS2), Drakengard (Square Enix, PS2), and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (Bandai, PS2). The studio is a subsidiary of a holding company known as Amuse Capital Group, which is owned by former Sega CEO Hayao Nakayama. Other companies that are a part of Amuse Capital Group include the development studios Artoon and Scarab. Artoon and Scarab each has experience in developing games for the Xbox. Artoon worked on Blinx: The Time Sweeper, while Scarab developed Dinosaur Hunting. Both games were published by Microsoft in Japan.

Cavia is rather large for a development studio, employing more than 80 people as of May 2004. The studio posted sales of 800 million yen ($7.2 million) last year, which is more than Artoon and Scarab combined.