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UTV Ignition will leave its sub-distribution days behind as it transforms into a triple-A digital games giant.
The company has recently opened three studios in Tokyo, Florida and London, and has hired former IGN Europe chief Justin Keeling to head up its global digital strategy.
This includes recruiting developers to create high-profile, big-budget digital games for WiiWare, PSN, XBLA, Google Games, Steam, Facebook, iPhone and more.
The new hires and studio openings have been funded by the company’s parent UTV, an Indian media conglomerate.
It is not often you get a major new player in the games sector,” said Keeling.
Ignition as a brand has been around for a while, but this is the re-birth of the company. I think we can do some good. We want to work with the best industry talent.”
From a publishing perspective, my goal is to make UTV Ignition the Pixar of games in two to three years. I want us to be raising the bar of quality.”
It isn’t all about digital – the company is also working on boxed IPs for PS3 and Xbox 360: El Shaddai, War Devil and Reich.
I had a few offers for work, and when I saw what these guys were up to, they were top of my list,” said Keeling.
There’s not many people investing in the top talent with no-expense spared. It is going to be quite a surprise when you see what we are building.”
