MALMÖ, SWEDEN & LONDON, UK — October 14, 2021 —
This time last year, Swedish developer Sharkmob announced the opening of a brand new London studio and ambitious plans to create a AAA development facility in the heart of the capital, with three projects in the works.
One year on, the developer has launched its first project, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt, in Early Access on PC. Meanwhile, the London team has grown seven-fold - - and designed a bespoke, state of the art studio in the heart of London - with doors slated to open in spring 2022.
The London team is working on an ambitious, unannounced title, and has become embedded into the Sharkmob way of making games. Looking to 2022, Sharkmob is planning to double in size, with plans to grow further in the coming years.
James Dobrowski, Managing Director of Sharkmob London said:
“It’s quite something to see a studio grow from five to thirty-five within a year - and to create an international team with a joint mission during a global pandemic - but we’ve done it! As we move into our second year we’ll be more than doubling the size of our team, and have a clear intention to grow significantly beyond this in the medium term.
It’s also with great excitement that we can look forward to moving into our brand new studio space next year. We’ve designed a cutting edge facility that will enable us to build the type of highly ambitious, multiplayer games we are passionate about and are confident our projects will benefit hugely from the investment in our purpose-built, employee centred studio.”
Sharkmob was founded in 2017 by a group of like-minded industry veterans who believed it was possible to make great games differently. Part of their thinking was that it is possible to make ambitious AAA online games within a people-centred studio structure which could be inclusive, family-friendly and put work/life balance front and centre.
Sharkmob’s overarching philosophy is seeped into the London studio’s set-up - with the idea that happy, healthy teams will also be at their most creative and that even those for whom the office environment can be triggering can thrive and contribute. The office has been thoughtfully designed to be an inclusive space. For example, the space will cater for a neurodiverse workforce and is intended to make staff with differing neurological needs feel comfortable. A conscious effort has also been put into natural organic movement between different workspaces, including open playtest areas, with the objective of putting teamwork, creativity and collaboration front and centre. The space, located on The Strand, near Waterloo Bridge, has easy access to public transport and beautiful river views. In order to make ambitious and innovative online games, and will also feature:
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User Research Lab - the London UR lab aiming to capture the broad demographic of London to offer a highly diverse test group
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Professional audio suites and recording facilities
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Professional colour grading and screen testing suite
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eSports Room for Staff
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Arts & Crafts space to promote traditional art training
Other aspects also worked into the studio culture are:
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Industry-leading in parental care (6-months maternity and 3-months paternity at full pay)
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A flexible working environment (remote days and flexible hours)
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Highly competitive salaries, plus contributory Pension, Medical, Dental and Life Insurance, Critical Illness Cover and 30 days vacation plus Public Holidays
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Eco-friendly and sustainable design features/ample bike storage
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Private Resting areas
If you are interested in learning more about Sharkmob and its activities in Malmö or London, please visit www.sharkmob.com. Media inquiries can be directed to press@sharkmob.com
For UK media enquiries:
Stefano Petrullo – Renaissance PR
+44 (0) 7828 692 315
Emily Britt – Renaissance PR
+44 (0) 7530 08 11 91
Other media inquiries can be directed to press@sharkmob.com
About Sharkmob:
Sharkmob was founded in 2017 and has offices in Malmö, Sweden, and London, UK. The studio develops AAA quality games for PC and console, using the Unreal Engine to power its ambitions of taking multiplayer games to new heights. Sharkmob is working on three major projects: Bloodhunt - a battle royale set in the Vampire: The Masquerade universe currently in Early Access on Steam; and two proprietary, unannounced projects.
Roll Call of recruits in London:
Name |
Role |
Join Date |
Previous History |
James Dobrowski |
Managing Director |
2020 |
Playground Games, Mediatonic, CCP Games |
Sam Barton |
Game Director |
2020 |
Mediatonic, CCP Games, Digit |
Martin Connor |
Design Director |
2020 |
Rockstar North, Guerrilla Games, Mediatonic, Sumo Digital, Wargaming |
Ben Penrose |
Art Director |
2020 |
Playground Games |
Sergio Franco |
Technical Director |
2020 |
Rare, Amazon Games |
Stefan Valasek |
Junior Concept Artist |
2020 |
Staffordshire University |
Lee Adamson |
Lead Vehicle Artist |
2020 |
Rocksteady |
Simon Lashley |
Principal R&D Engineer |
2020 |
Guerrilla Games, Climax, Sumo Digital, Wargaming |
Chris Royall |
Lead IT |
2020 |
King |
Tim Dearing |
Principal Vehicle Handling Designer |
Feb |
Codemasters, Sumo Digital, Electric Square, Natural Motion |
Yoram van de Vall |
Level Designer |
Feb |
Build A Rocket Boy |
Kelvin Janson |
Art Manager |
Mar |
Codemasters, Sony, Monumental Games, Playground Games |
Nick Edwards |
Senior Systems Engineer |
Apr |
Sumo Digital |
Sandy King |
QA Manager |
Apr |
Microsoft, Mediatonic, Curve Digital |
Richard Anderson |
Lead Concept Artist |
Apr |
MPC, Framestore, Industrial Light & Magic, Rocksteady |
Faye Windsor-Smith |
Senior Game Designer |
May |
Codemasters, Boss Alien, Flavourworks |
Tristan Lawler |
Senior Technical Animator |
May |
Rocksteady |
Marios Bikos |
Senior Gameplay Engineer |
May |
Electric Square, Framestore, Vive |
Shea Richardson |
Senior Technical Animator |
Jun |
Rocksteady |
Ellie Reid |
Office Manager |
Jun |
Entura International |
Chris Trewartha |
Senior Producer |
Jun |
Sony, Crytek, Abertay University |
Steffie Garcia |
Senior UI Artist |
Jun |
Marmalade, Natural Motion, Big Pixel, King |
Euginia Peruzzo |
Senior Character Artist |
Jun |
Travellers Tales, Playground Games |
Razvan Prajanu |
Senior Environment Artist |
Jun |
Playground Game, Rebellion |
Georgios Zargiannakis |
Senior Software Engineer |
Jun |
CloudNC, Double Negative |
Lee Borrer |
Environment Artist |
Jun |
West Pier Studio |
Stanislaw Swiecicki |
Narrative Director |
Jul |
CD Projekt Red, Techland |
Nicola Humphreys |
Junior Game Designer |
Jul |
University of Arts, London |
Zachary Sanderson |
Junior Engineer |
Jul |
University of Exeter |
Jay Saulog |
Junior Game Designer |
Aug |
Rare |
Will Dewe |
Senior Animator |
Aug |
Dovetail, nDreams |
Karim Ajouz |
Junior Gameplay Engineer |
Aug |
Goldsmiths, University of London |
Joachim Malan |
Principal Technical Artist |
Aug |
Frontier, Microsoft, CCP Games |
Asaf Kazachinsky |
Senior Game Designer |
Sep |
Larian Studios, 11 Bit Studios |