A co-founder from Sony’s recently acquired smartphone developer Savage Game Studios has left the Helsinki and Berlin-based company as he looks for “equilibrium” in life. In a refreshingly candid post, Michail Katkoff – who co-founded the studio, having previously worked at developers like Rovio – said that it was “time to say goodbye” after taking the team from “zero to one”.
“Now I’m eager to watch from the side as [fellow co-founders] Nadjim Adjir and Mike McManus take it from one to one hundred,” he revealed. “In the same breath, I wish nothing but the best to Olivier Courtemanche and Kris Davis who are leading PlayStation’s charge onto mobile. Can’t wait to play all the amazing games from all the fantastic developers!”
Katkoff went on to explain that he’s leaving his role in order to find a better work/life balance. He explained: “For as long as I remember, my mentality was to push tirelessly to pursue my career and financial goals. Little did I know, this pursuit came at the expense of friendships, parental life, marriage, and mental health.”
We still don’t know what Savage Game Studios is working on, but it’s being billed as Sony’s first big foray into mobile. A variety of job listings have described the project as a “AAA mobile live service action game”, but that obviously could entail pretty much anything. Hopefully we don’t have to wait too much longer to learn what it’s got in store.
[source linkedin.com, via mobilegamer.biz]
Comments 22
This Mobile initiative seems to be one false start after another. Starting to wonder if they should even bother.
I wish the best Michail Katkoff. And pray for the poor developers working on an idle clicker God of War game.
@3Above The company I work for was bought two years ago.
Six months ago the old CEO and VP left.
Certain corners of the internet will try to tell you that this is an unfolding disaster or something, but it's pretty normal to see departures like this.
Sometimes they stay. Sometimes they stick around to help manage the merger and then they leave.
It doesn't mean much.
@3Above To be fair, it sounds like he had a good reason for going. And he still seems pretty excited for the project.
@get2sammyb It was probably the exit he was looking for - Stressed at work for whatever reason, sell the company, resign.
@Shepherd_Tallon Yeah its probably not all Doom and gloom. And it seems he was ready for a life change which I can totally understand. I honestly hope he's able to live the life he wants.
I don't know man, leave mobile to the mobile experts, concentrate on console, don't get distracted.
Haha this whole initiative is a joke.
@EMQZ They've hired mobile experts to handle it, though.
The industry spits the workers out. They see a fraction of the profits while burning out far too soon.
I wish him best.
I wish SONY to once for all open it's eyes and stop this madness around GaaS! No one plays mobile GaaSes! It is total stupidity to think people play it just because it is SONY...
@djlard Sony HAVE to try though, they can't rely solely on single player games with budgets from $100m to over $200m. They need to look for a game or two that's going to bring in huge amounts of revenue that helps fund the type of games that gamers like us prefer.
I'm curious to see what they come up with (J2ME games were pretty good from Sony's past efforts from what I have seen of mobile efforts then of mobile devs making some games).
The smartphone ones eh, I don't know enough about really the early attempts of PS Mobile or others alongside the PS Allstars Island or whatever else going on before it well died.
WipEout Rush is not exciting to me at all (is a manager game a fine idea sure, but I have other options for that from GT4-6 or even other manager games then just an optional thing like the GT games but for a WipEout continuation no one wanted it and it's filled with nonsense likely anyway and it 'plays itself' for the most part with likely not much management need really.
I assume so it's not that exciting besides well what else were they going to do to make it stand out I don't know but a management game is nothing new and a sci-fi racer is nothing new to eh they were kind of just doing a combo that's a fair idea but still eh) so I'm kind of lacking care in their current mobile games of this period in time besides well cough current mobile game state is just terrible and well handhelds forever in that regard. Until digital only, cloud is pushed further or worse quality and then I'm staying retro.
Then again it's either Project Q Lite (am I a remote play fan yes, do I care for it not this way no) or Mobile. Take our pick of disappointment.
I never cared for mobile but I want to be open minded as why a lot of garbage exists a few amounts of good do exist you just barely hear about them because so much is bad.
I just see eh quality happening even if the skills are there for the mobile studio they have I assume and of course high staff resigning due to valid reasons too.
I feel him. Did a similar thing recently, feel like becoming myself again now.
Sensible fellow. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, comes before family, friends and your own health and happiness, physical or mental.
They are what is important in life.
perhaps it is for the best... this initiative is going to fail and the studio will be shut down in due time anyways.
@AdamNovice Sony takes 30% from all 3rd party games and MTX's, and they don't even have to lift a finger to make them. COD alone makes them more than $1BN a year.
@TrickyDicky99 Sony can't rely on 3rd parties staying indefinitely, CoD for example could be gone from PlayStation within the next decade if MS have there way. That's a lot of money that they lose out on. Plus the 30% take could come under pressure eventually after Activision forced them to lower the rate, other companies may follow suit.
@AdamNovice Well Steam and Apple manage to make a bucket load of money without making games and just taking 30%. In fact it works for every platform holder.
@TrickyDicky99 1. Apple have way more money then Sony so it's not a fair comparison and even then Epic tried to sue them because of that 30% rate.
2. Steam is the most dominant PC market in the world and get games released on the platform on a daily basis unlike PSN.
Your just looking for reasons why Sony should just turn their back on a strategy they've poured a lot of time and resources into just because you don't like it.
The strategy they had through the PS4 era isn't going to last forever, hence why there making these moves.
@AdamNovice Sony makes more money from taking a 30% cut from 3rd party MTX's than they do from all 1st & 3rd party game sales combined.
Being a platform holder and just sitting back and taking the 30% cut with zero game development cost is the money maker, exclusives are designed to get people onto the platform to then spend money on 3rd party.
Word from in the studio is that both Miska and Sophie Vo have been fired for bullying and toxic behaviour. It's kind of a behind the scenes open joke in Berlin that Savage was a pretty bad place to work at.
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