Ex-DICE devs form TTK Games, working on new online shooter

Lars Gustavsson, former creative director at EA DICE, announced the launch of a new studio called TTK Games. TTK (short for Time to Kill) is focused on creating the next-generation of online shooters with several former creatives from the Battlefield franchise leading the way.

Other than Gustavsson, who is the CEO and creative director at TTK, the studio is co-founded by Daniel Berlin, the senior design director; Vidar Nygren, CTO and technical director; and Peter Hoyles, the art director. Each of them formerly worked at DICE on the Battlefield franchise.

In an interview with GamesBeat, Gustavsson said that TTK’s founders intend to built their studio to be more flexible. “Instead of just jumping on the dessert and start building a game, we took our time to start laying a foundation… so that when we start bringing people on board, people feel that they’re at a large company in terms of professionalism and safety but also the fun parts of being a small, nimble studio with a blank canvas to fill.”

The co-founders didn’t disclose much about TTK’s new project, except to say they’re starting fresh with a new IP. In the short term, they’re focused on recruiting new talent to the studio. Nygren told GamesBeat, “We all want to design something from the ground without any history that we need to relate to. At DICE we ended being in leadership roles, which is great, but I joined DICE in the first place to work on a game… That’s a big driving force for us, to set up a small studio where we can work closely with the craftsmanship.”

Gustavsson said in a statement, “Throughout my career I’ve made games to encourage teamwork, friendly competition and using your mind and reflexes to accomplish a goal and outwit your opponent. We are passionate about videogames, because we think there’s no better way to kill time.”