Ex-Techland COO founds Strange New Things in Wroclaw, Poland

Pawel Zawodny, formerly the COO of Call of Juarez, Dead Island and Dying Light developer Techland, has founded a new studio in Wroclaw, Poland.

Zawodny is joined at Strange New Things by former members of IO Interactive, CD Projekt Red and Techland itself. Working on both PC and console, the new outfit "aims to create emotional gaming experiences". No details of the studio's first project have been made public just yet, but a press release hints that details are "hidden in plain sight" on the company's website.

"Every member of the team had worked on major titles throughout their career," said Zawodny. "Dying Light, Hitman, The Witcher series, Dead Island, Call of Juarez series - they are just some of the titles we were heavily involved in. We have producers, artists, writers, programmers, level designers, and other people who had major impact on those AAA productions.

"After decades of creating titles that were dictated by so-called market demand, we've all reached a point when we decided to do something different - something that comes from 'us'. We also felt that the way the industry giants work is outdated. We want to adapt to a new way of working and fostering team work - an evolutionary approach described as Teal - where there are no predefined hierarchies or roles. It's time that we change the industry from the inside."