Bala brothers found Velan studios

Guha and Karthik Bala, best known as the founders of Vicarious Visions, have returned to game development, emerging at the head of a brand new game development outfit, Velan Studios.

The developer, based in the U.S, will not focus on any particularly areas of game development, refraining from focussing on mobile, console or virtual reality and instead aiming to focus on: "breakthrough experimental games and new kinds of experiences".

The Bala brothers worked with Vicarious Visions for 25 years, staying on after the company’s acquisition by Activision in 2005 to continue work on titles like Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk’s, leaving the company in April of this year.

The Bala’s are often credited with helping to develop the games scene in Upstate New York, running game jams and attending local indie events, and the new company headquarters is in Troy, Upstate New York, just four miles from Menands, where Vicarious Visions is based. The new studio could be looking to take advantage of this local talent as they aim to build small teams that will prototype new ideas for the company to pursue.