It seems that 2021 is the year for new companies to take to the stage and reveal that they’re working on furthering the industry, creating healthy competition between developers and publishers. With companies like Deviation games being founded, as well as Blue Box, and Bloober Team making their way into the mainsFFtream by being picked up by companies like Konami and Sony, publisher-less developers are continuing on the rise. This is no secret with the announcement of That’s No Moon Studios which is an extremely on-the-nose Star Wars reference. References aside, the developers involved in That’s No Moon Studios are more than a couple of independent developers, and are actually Industry veterans from across gaming. 

So, Who’s involved in this surprise entrance of a company? The people involved in the founding of That’s No Moon Studios are The Former PlayStation Visual Arts Group Director Michael Mumbauer, Sony Santa Monica’s Former Director of Product Development Tina Kowaleski, Former EA Senior Development Nick Kononelos, PlayStation’s Former Head of Finance George Allison, and the Former Foundation Engineer for Bungie Barry Genova.

“This is, to some degree, kind of bringing the band back together with all of these people who have been working together for, in some cases, decades.”

When Mentioning the name “That’s No Moon” Mumbauer elaborates on the decision behind naming their studio after a single moment in Star Wars. “We wanted [the name] to be impactful, the start of something big, We want players to think about our narrative experiences long after the game credits roll and they put the controller down.”

Mumbauer alone was responsible for contributing to many titles like Ratchet and Clank, God of War 2018, and Ghost of Tsushima. However, even more veterans from Naughty Dog, EA, Bungie, Infinity Ward, and Sony Santa Monica. This makes for a developer who has a lot of star power backing the company, and their first title is going to be something big according to the company in an interview with gamesindustry.biz

That’s No Moon’s First title is going to be something that is a “limit pushing” story-driven action-adventure title. Mumbauer mentions this change to something new in the interview “There’s never been a better time to start something new. The games industry just keeps growing exponentially. Every time there’s a need for some kind of reinvention of industry, the top talent gets together and tries to evolve or revolutionize those industries. You can see it in film with DreamWorks, in comics with Image Comics, or in music with Interscope [Records] and Aftermath [Entertainment]. I feel like that’s where we are right now. We’re at a point in the industry where there are a lot of big things happening, and we want to use our collective experience to do something new.”

This is something that the company is planning to do with their title, aiming to make a 3^rd person title that is going to push the boundaries for the player. And the technology that new consoles and PC games have been able to push is paramount to how That’s No Moon Studios is trying to innovate. “Look at a game like Ratchet & Clank [Rift Apart] — it almost looks like a real-time Pixar movie. There’s so much more we can do now because we’ve arrived at a place where characters and the assets that we’ve created in the games can walk out of the interactive space and into the linear space in exactly the same form. They don’t have to be adapted. So our stories can expand out and we can expand our audiences and tell more meaningful, powerful, connected stories, not unlike the way Marvel does.”

Mumbauer elaborates that the developer is going out of its way to push its boundaries on the games by hiring the right people for the job, as to make the game more engaging and create a universe in which the games can take place. “At the center, you have these successful and prolific creators who are directing very specific new mechanics and story opportunities — I can’t get into the specifics of it without telling you everything, but what I can say is they’re all evolutions of the language that was developed by these creators for over a decade,” he says. “Just wait — I know that’s tough — and I think you’ll really start to see what we’re talking about. “cohesive universe for a new generation” and one that unifies the East and West in terms of audience.”

That’s no Moon has also been fortunate enough to receive a backer known as Smilegate, who has been giving the all-star developer funding for their upcoming project, as well as future endeavors outside of the gaming medium. This sets the precedent that the company is going to venture out of the gaming industry and into television or movies as ways to tell the story of their characters, and as Mumbauer points out, with Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, assets and character models in the game could be used in the film industry without needing to adapt the characters for the film medium, making the possibility of making films the same way that cutscenes are made in the games that That’s No Moon creates. 

“The reality is if you put a bunch of people who worked together with a passion for the art and a clear goal, there’s a high probability of success. But it’s no different than any other industry — of course, there are risks, but I think we’re a studio with a very clear understanding of what’s in front of us and we know how to build games in this genre.”

The most important thing to know about That’s No Moon is that they’re not to be underestimated, and the company is going to make sure that players know it when the time comes for their game to release. Players should look forward to what this game developer has up their sleeves.