Pandemic founder launches new social studio

Today Greg Borrud, one of the co-founders of Pandemic, Chris Miller, Vivendi veteran and Eric "Giz" Gewirtz have launched their new social studio, Seismic Games.

Based in Los Angeles, the team aims to create compelling social games that are affected directly by real world events.

"We want something to happen in the real world and someone says 'hey, I wonder how they're handling this in the game" and they'll jump into the game,'" explained CEO Borrud, in an exclusive interview with GamesIndustry.biz

He also explained that for the team, the choice to move into social gaming has more to do with excitement than a need to join the free-to-play gold rush.

"We can kind of work in any business we wanted to work in, and I think that's important thing. We chose social games because that's what's new, that's what fresh and interesting," he explained.

"So what attracted us to social games is not only that opportunity to be a little more... to take a few more risks. You can take more of a risk in this industry because the variables are much more reasonable, with traditional games... believe me, I've sat in so many meetings where everyone is completely risk averse, and you can see that is you look at the top ten."

The team aren't revealing much more about their first game, but their Los Angeles location and ties to the movie industry means that as well as featuring real world events, real world entertainment brands will be a part of the games too.