‘Cross-screen’ studio Turbo gets backing from SoftBank

A newly formed New York studio that claims talent from top development houses has been backed by the venture capital firm with stakes in Supercell and GungHo.

Turbo Studios is based in Brooklyn, New York, and claims to have been formed by talent from Nintendo, Sony, CCP, Riot, Rockstar Games, Q-Games and more.

So far, the studio has only shared that it intends to “refined gameplay mechanics applied to ‘cross-screen’ design”. But, significantly, it has already received a “strategic investment” from SoftBank Ventures Korea for an undisclosed amount.

Last year, SoftBank acquired a majority stake in GungHo (Puzzle & Dragons) and in Supercell (Clash of Clans), so the VC body must see potential in Turbo’s business.

“We’re driven by the desire to create triple-A-quality entertainment with multiplayer components across devices,” said Yohei Ishii, CEO of Turbo.

“Natively developed cross-screen core titles with seamless functionality and fun have been elusive. We’re enabling elite development talent to innovate on today’s digital platforms because quality is what matters, not of-the-minute trends. We are thrilled that SoftBank shares our vision.”

SoftBank Ventures Korea’s Daniel Kang added: "We’re working with Turbo because they have the seasoned background and visionary ideas to reinvent how games are played.

“Our meticulous investment choices have led to a strong position in gaming and we hope to benefit from the expertise of other subsidiaries of SoftBank Group, such as Supercell and GungHo. We look forward to furthering this success when Turbo’s first game is released in late 2014."

Turbo will be attending GDC in San Francisco next week, and plans to unveil what it is working on in the coming months.