Retro Studios is Working on a “Crowning Achievement” Game, Hires Uncharted 3 and Darksiders Artists
Posted on January 10 2012 by Nathanial Rumphol-Janc
How about this little tidbit today coming right out of our favorite cesspool of information, NeoGaf. We’ve had suspicions for the better part of 6 months now that Retro Studios has been working on a rather large project. While most of us have been hoping it was new IP to come from what has now become one of Nintendo’s most trusted development studios, whatever it ends up being it is definitely sure to please us. After all, the Prime series and Donkey Kong Country Returns were simply fantastic, as was their work on the 3DS port that shall go unnamed. Point is, in Retro we trust. We’ve wanted them to tackle a Zelda game, a Mario game, Starfox, Pikmin… pretty much anything. We love the Retro touch at ZI.
What’s most interesting is the two new staffers they recently added for this big project of theirs. Eric Kozlowsky, former employee of Naughty Dog, is a 3D artist who takes 2D concept work and translates it into a 3D environment. Naturally, he also creates his own concept art when needed. He has worked on titles such as Brutal Legend and most notably Uncharted 3. The other employee is Gray Ginther, who was a character design artist for Darksiders.
Eric Kozlowsky stated this in a tweet when talking about his current project:
Alas I am going to shelve it for a little while as I am going to work on another project that I am super excited about. I can’t talk about it too much but if all goes well it might just be one of my crowning achievements as an artist….
Considering that he has done work on Uncharted 3, it’s saying a lot when he thinks his current project, which is with Retro Studios, is going to be, essentially, the defining moment in his entire career. The fact Retro hired these two talented artists suggests heavily that whatever Retro is working on, it’s definitely not something we normally get from Nintendo. Whatever it is, I am excited, as I am sure it will likely be making it’s debut on the Wii U.
Oh, and from the sounds of it, whatever this project is, it could arrive this year. Is this potentially a blockbuster new IP from Retro Studios arriving at launch for the Wii U? One can only hope.
