A group of industry veterans who have previously worked on The Witcher series and Cyberpunk 2077 have today (May 31) announced their new studio, Blank.
Blank was co-founded by Mateusz Kanik, game director of Cyberpunk 2077, along with The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 executive producers, Jędrzej Mróz and Marcin Jefimow.
The new studio will be applying its years of experience to bring “beautifully crafted games and unique experiences to players, favoring novel territory rather than well-trodden ground (ie. no clones, or predictable entries).”
Alongside its studio announcement, Blank also shared a piece of concept art for its first unannounced project, which you can view above. The image shows a character-driven game set in an apocalypse, “with a twist or two”.
Kanik will be taking on the role of game director on Blank’s new title, while Mróz and Jefimow will be acting as executive producers. Mikołaj Marchewka will also be joining as the managing director.
Blank has also brought on both Michal Dobrowolski as design director and Artur Ganszyniec as narrative director — both of who have a history with CD Projekt Red — with Grzegorz Przybyś set to act as the art director as Art Director.
“We’re thrilled to announce Blank and to start expanding our incredible team,” said Kanik. “After working for years in an increasingly conservative industry, we’re ready to make bold, impactful projects that share our unique creativity and values.
“Where the industry champions a dictatorship of the creative individual, we want to give ownership to the team. Where the industry leans on crunch culture, we prefer work-life balance. Where the industry says bigger is better, we’re setting our sights on highly polished games with a focus on emotion, story, and craftsmanship.”
The studio is based in Warsaw, Poland and currently has 10 team members, but is looking to hire almost 60 people. Blank has available positions and more information here.
In other gaming news, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is coming to PC this summer.