Don’t worry, Vonderhaar fans, David is back.
David Vonderhaar was the design director at Treyarch for over eighteen years, working on most of the Call of Duty games since 2005. Last year, he left the company for a new adventure, and this year, we’re finding out what that adventure is.
Backed by NetEase, the same publishing company behind Naraka Bladepoint and Dead by Daylight: Mobile, Vonderhaar has started a new AAA, remote-first game studio called BulletFarm.
NetEase also announced that BulletFarm is already working on a first-person shooter game focusing on co-op play. The game will be built on Unreal Engine 5 and will be set in an original universe.
Alongside Vonderhaar on the BulletFarm team is Chris Cowell, who also worked at Treyarch as a principal game designer.
The team might be small, but they are currently looking to hire a few more craftspeople to create the founding members, and considering that it’s a remote-first company, there might be a chance for one of you lot to be one of them. I’m linking the job posts here, just in case you’re feeling brave enough to sign up.
Vonderhaar seems both optimistic and excited about the new title that his studio is working on:
Starting this new studio has given me a chance to step out of my comfort zone and try my hand at making something entirely new and different. This is a departure from the games I’ve worked on, but one that showcases my passion for rich characters, precise mechanics, more intimate storytelling, and plenty of action,
The only doubt I have in my mind is, why start a AAA studio when other companies like Ubisoft are already making AAAA games?