Neopets founders launch new studio

Neopets' co-founders Adam Powell and Donna Williams have set up a new games studio, Meteor Games, based in West Hollywood, California.

The pair launched the studio following the success of Neopets, the virtual pets website, which they founded in 1999 and sold to MTV Networks in 2005 for USD 160 million. Powell will serve as Meteor Games chief executive officer and creative director, while Williams takes the role of chief operating officer and president.

"Our experience developing the world and characters of Neopets provides us with a unique advantage as we create a more robust and in-depth experience with Meteor Games," said Powell.

"Our goal is to create a game world that is immersive, technologically advanced and more accessible than the current slate of online games available today. We want gamers to play on their terms - when, where and how they want."

Meteor Games' first project is an, as yet unnamed, MMO aimed at the younger market.

"Massively multiplayer games, casual web-based games, and social networking are all areas of explosive growth and taken together, they are defining how the Internet Generation communicates with one another and are entertained," said Williams.

"Meteor Games is creating an online world that will blend these emerging elements into a single persistent experience that gamers of all ages can enjoy."