Modern Warfare, The Last Of Us Veterans Team Up For New Studio With $100 Million Investment

Developers from Call of Duty, The Last of Us, and PlayStation have formed a new studio to make AAA games, and they've received $100 million in funding for their first project.

The team is called That's No Moon Entertainment Inc (a reference to Star Wars), which is not to be confused with the UK studio No Moon--the latter was founded in 2016. South Korean studio Smilegate (CrossFire) invested more than $100 million into That's No Moon for the new game, which is described as an "ambitious, new action-adventure game that will push the limits of both gameplay and story."

In a post on the company's website, That's No Moon alluded to the possibility that its new game will be a single-player experience. "We believe in the importance of single-player narrative games and that story and gameplay are not two distinct ideas, but rather extensions of one another," the post says. "Our shared vision is to craft captivating stories and relatable, emotionally resonant characters that are not only entertaining, but thought-provoking. We want to make experiences that will stick with you for long after you put down the controller."

The website also teases that whatever That's No Moon creates, it might not be just a game, and the company is laying the groundwork to make this a reality.

"We want to create characters and worlds that begin in our games, but will eventually extend into linear media⁠--whether that’s TV, film, or beyond. To achieve this, we're building a state-of-the-art studio in Los Angeles with a dedicated, in-house virtual production stage that will be home to our team when it's safe to do so."

Some of the talent working on the game includes former Infinity Ward and Naughty Dog narrative lead Taylor Kurosaki as its creative director; Call of Duty: Modern Warfare design director and The Last of Us lead game designer Jacob Minkoff as its game director; and other developers who worked on games like God of War, Fortnite, Destiny, and Uncharted 4.

In terms of the management team, Michael Mumbauer, the former head of PlayStation's visual arts group, is the CEO. Tina Kowalewski, the former boss of Sony Santa Monica, is the chief strategy officer at That's No Moon. Other business leads include Nick Kononelos (chief operating officer, formerly senior development director at EA), Barry Genova (chief technology officer, formerly foundation engineering nead at Bungie), and George Allison (chief financial officer, formerly a finance executive at PlayStation).

"We started That's No Moon with a singular vision of creating unforgettable stories and characters that will define and extend beyond our medium," Mumbauer said. "I'm proud to share that ambition with such a talented team of creators and our incredible partners at Smilegate."

"We look forward to working with them and continuing to invest in visionary development teams seeking to bring bold new ideas and innovation to gaming," Smilegate VP Harold Kim said.

That's No Moon is based in Los Angeles and San Diego. The company is hoping to grow its team to almost 100 developers by 2022.