Ex-Epic devs raise $4.1m for new studio Noodle Cat
Indie outfit to offer four-day work week, flexible hours at fully remote studio
Noodle Cat Games today announced that it has raised $4.1 million in seed funding as it attempts to build a studio around "a flexible, iteration-based development model rooted at the intersection of trust, creativity and empathy."
Noodle Cat was co-founded by a trio of Epic Games veterans in former Epic lead systems designer David Hunt, former Epic principal programmer Michael Noland, and former Epic head of publishing Ed Zobrist. Their current roles with Noodle Cat are CEO, CTO, and business advisor, respectively.
Much of the Noodle Cat team has prior experience at Epic, although EA, Bioware, Popcap, and Flying Lab Software are also well represented.
The remote working studio has made developer-friendly options like four-day work weeks, flexible working hours, and fully covered healthcare a prominent part of its recruitment pitch.
"Our industry is notorious for demanding immense personal sacrifices in order to get a game to the finish line," CEO David Hunt said in a post on the studio's website.
"Usually, it's not malicious. The time pressure and fleeting nature of financial success make it easy to stack one seemingly minor sacrifice on top of another. I've seen this grind too many coworkers to dust. In one heartbreaking case, I lost a friend and mentor to heart failure far too early in his life, due to overwork."
The funding round was med by Makers Fund, with additional participation from 1Up Ventures and Epyllion.