Nearly 18 months after a group of local video game developers made it their mission to put Philly on the video game map, the city finally has its first “AAA” video game studio.
In a press release today, Play Eternal announced it will be basing its operations out of Philadelphia at a location yet to be determined. The new studio will be led by Louis Tranchitella, Brandon Van Slyke, Albert Vazquez, and Michael Worth, veterans of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 and a handful of other titles according to the press release.
“AAA” refers to a high-budget game studio that will publish titles for wide release. Currently, independent shops dominate Philadelphia’s game-making community.
The studio is a big win for the local grassroots effort to make Philadelphia attractive to video game development companies. Top video game talent is routinely poached from Drexel and Penn, home of the nation’s only Ivy-league video game development program.
The studio says that it will likely be located within city limits.
If you remember, Worth was among the leaders of VGI Philly, the effort to create favorable tax laws to incentivize video game companies. Worth presented his idea at Ignite Philly 4.
We’ll have more from the company later this week.
Before you go...
Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.
3 ways to support our work:- Contribute to the Journalism Fund. Charitable giving ensures our information remains free and accessible for residents to discover workforce programs and entrepreneurship pathways. This includes philanthropic grants and individual tax-deductible donations from readers like you.
- Use our Preferred Partners. Our directory of vetted providers offers high-quality recommendations for services our readers need, and each referral supports our journalism.
- Use our services. If you need entrepreneurs and tech leaders to buy your services, are seeking technologists to hire or want more professionals to know about your ecosystem, Technical.ly has the biggest and most engaged audience in the mid-Atlantic. We help companies tell their stories and answer big questions to meet and serve our community.
Join our growing Slack community
Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!
Look inside: Franklin Institute’s Giant Heart reopens with new immersive exhibits
How Berkadia's innovation conference demonstrates its commitment to people and technology
What actually is the 'creator economy'? Here's why we should care
