Bad Robot Games, a division of J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot production company, hired industry veteran Mike Booth to run its newly created in-house game development studio.
Booth, most recently social VR director at Facebook (which he left a year ago), is best known as creator and lead designer of first-person shooter/survival horror game “Left 4 Dead.” He brings more than two decades of experience in the games biz as founder of Turtle Rock Studios (acquired by Valve) and as an exec at Blizzard Entertainment and Electronic Arts.
In his new role as GM of Bad Robot Games Studio, Booth will help build out a creative development team to develop original titles, starting with its first game — which the company described only as a AAA title for PC/console platforms designed to immerse players and streaming audiences in a “cinematic experience.”
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Booth reports to Anna Sweet, CEO of Bad Robot Games, the former Valve, Facebook Oculus and Caffeine exec who joined the company in June 2020. Bad Robot Games was formed in 2018 in a joint venture with China’s Tencent and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. WarnerMedia’s overall deal inked last year with Abrams encompasses games among the projects Bad Robot is set to produce for the media conglomerate.
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Previously, Bad Robot Games’ strategy was to partner with third-party developers. With the in-house studio led by Booth, the company is positioned to develop original properties for all platforms in collaboration with Bad Robot’s film and TV departments, as well as its network of writers, composers, sound designers, concept artists and other talent.
The model “uniquely allows us to blend artists, areas of expertise and perspectives across industries to create truly innovative games,” Sweet said in a statement. “Mike is one of the most accomplished game developers in the world and he is constantly looking for ways to advance and innovate to help deliver the most compelling experiences to players.”
Over his career, Booth has created and designed multiple game franchises. That includes serving as project lead/lead designer for “Counter-Strike: Condition Zero” (Valve/Turtle Rock Studios) and “Nox” (EA/Westwood Studios). He also was part of the creative teams for other iterations of “Counter-Strike” as well as “Team Fortress 2,” “Command & Conquer: Generals” and “Command & Conquer Red Alert 2.”
Booth, commenting on his Bad Robot Games Studio gig, said, “My career has been driven by a desire to innovate new ways of bringing people together for epic adventures online, leaving them with exciting stories they can tell their friends afterwards. “The games I create center around people working together to survive and thrive in fantastic worlds, which seems an excellent fit for J.J. Abrams’ approach to moviemaking.”