:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/9206841/shackletoncrater_splash_mockup1_logolow.0.jpg)
Joe Ybarra, a co-founder of Electronic Arts who has decades of development, production and executive experience in the gaming industry, has started a new studio called Joe Got Game, the new company announced today.
The studio's first game will be called Shackleton Crater, which the company says is a "fast paced turn based strategy game" designed for four players, and is currently scheduled for release on Windows PCs, iOS and Android in spring 2014. Players will attempt to build and sustain a moon colony in four stages. The company plans to launch a Kickstarter campaign for the title next week.
"I felt the need at this point in my career to leverage all that I've learned, and build a new studio from the ground up with a new kind of focus on the gamer experience, and to make that one of excitement, wonder and social relevance," said Ybarra in a press release announcing the formation of the studio. "We believe Joe Got Game represents a real turning point in this industry relative to how games are conceived, built, delivered and enjoyed."
Joe Got Game's developers are "aligning themselves with the latest technological trends, and [hope] to bring an immersive gaming environment to both tablet and PC players," according to the press release. Ybarra added, "We're already planning a series of connected titles that will really take advantage of the tools and techniques at our disposal."
Ybarra served as one of the original designers and producers at Electronic Arts in the early 1980s, and worked on games such as M.U.L.E., The Bard's Tale and the first Madden NFL game, John Madden Football. He later held executive positions at a number of studios and publishers, including Infocom, 3DO, Ensemble Studios and Ubisoft. Joe Got Game is located in Chandler, Ariz., a suburb of Phoenix.
