In January of this year, former Dragon Age Creative Director Mike Laidlaw departed his role at Ubisoft Québec, after reportedly spending several months on a cancelled King Arthur game. At the time, it seemed Laidlaw wasn’t too sure where his talents would take him next. That much has recently become clearer, though. Laidlaw, along with fellow Electronic Arts and Ubisoft alum, is establishing a new studio in Québec City.
Laidlaw founded the new company, Yellow Brick Games, with Thomas Giroux, Jeff Skalski, and Frédéric St-Laurent B. The small group of four industry veterans have over 15 years of experience between them. According to Giroux, the studio’s CEO, their expertise will help Yellow Brick Games focus on a “back to basics”-style of game production. Such an approach will further center on “the pleasure of crafting new game experiences, in a flexible and more personable environment that an independent studio can provide.”
The team already has a debut project underway in some capacity. Frédéric St-Laurent B, an ex-Ubisoft Québec Game Director, serves as Game Director on the mystery title. Meanwhile, Laidlaw assumes the role of Yellow Brick Games’ Chief Creative Officer. Jeff Skalski, who long acted as a Senior Producer at EA and Ubisoft, is the new development studio’s Chief Operating Officer and Executive Producer.
In a statement about this endeavor, Skalski said the crew aims to focus on a smaller team where the people themselves take precedent. According to Skalski:
We have learned a lot from working on world-class, multi-year projects with thousands of colleagues and we want to take a different approach. Leveraging a smaller talented team where people come first, we will create amazing worlds and experiences for all others to enjoy. The market is moving fast, and we have no desire to play catchup and chase it when we can influence where it goes.
[Source: Yellow Brick Games via PC Gamer]
