Dead Space and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) are two names that nobody will really associate with each other, but a new project on the horizon is here to prove us wrong.
Following the overwhelming success of PUBG, the battle royale shooter is looking to branch into narrative titles under the leadership of a new studio called Striking Distance.
The team is set to “create an original narrative experience within the PUBG universe” from ground-up efforts, with industry veteran Glen Schofield set to take the helm. In the above video, he also expressed excitement in “the freedom to explore the PUBG universe”, stating that he views it, and the potential it offers, to be beyond the battle royale genre.
Striking Distance, despite being a newly-founded company based in California, is still wholly owned by PUBG Corp, which means the new project will be published under the latter’s name as well.
With Schofield’s past expertise on some heavy hitter titles such as Dead Space and Call of Duty, the road ahead for the studio does seem to be optimistic. The third-person horror franchise is widely regarded as one of the most critically acclaimed games of all time, and while it’s not quite similar to PUBG, his experience with Call of Duty should be able to come into play.
The set-up of Striking Distance seems to reinforce PUBG Corp’s transition into a new stage, especially with PlayerUnknown himself stepping away from the main game to work on the new PUBG Special Projects division – though he still remains a consulting creative director on the popular battle royale shooter.
Perhaps we can look forward to a Mad Max version of Miramar next?
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Jake Su
