Prior to the release of Outriders, People Can Fly's name was likely synonymous with Bulletstorm and Gears of War: Judgment, but it may not have been as well known as many other developers. According to PCF CEO Sebastian Wojciechowski, however, Outriders has put the company back on the map. That's only one part, though, as People Can Fly is looking to grow as a global brand.
Game ZXC recently spoke with Wojciechowski regarding People Can Fly's growth plans and recent dealings, including the new People Can Fly Chicago studio as well as the acquisition of Game On. Described in the announcement as an "element of [People Can Fly's] growth strategy," Game On is a studio specializing in motion capture, animation, and audio services. Game On will add an extra layer of expertise in these areas, according to Wojciechowski, and CEO Sam Girardin is joining PCF's leadership team.
Interestingly, however, Game On will not be doing work exclusively for People Can Fly. With the acquisition, it was announced that People Can Fly is not making any exclusivity claims with the studio, and Game On will continue to work with other clients. Game On has done work on titles such as Marvel's Avengers, The Outer Worlds, Horizon Forbidden West, Outriders, and more. So with this deal, we asked Wojciechowski how this changes the relationship between People Can Fly and Game On:
"We’ve been long-term partners with Game On and now we will cooperate even closer; also, as a member of our group, Game On will get access to resources and capital. We will do our best to support the studio’s further development. But Game On remains independent and will continue to work with other clients from the gaming industry."
As aforementioned, People Can Fly also worked with Game On on Outriders, and Wojciechowski described working with the company as a "great experience." This cooperation on Outriders was "really significant" overall, and per Wojciechowski, "was, for me, one of the main reasons behind this acquisition."
In terms of wider growth, the new Chicago studio is the third game development studio in North America, alongside New York and Montreal. Game On is also based in Montreal, so we asked if it and PCF Montreal would work more closely together as a result of this expansion.
"What I can say at this point is that this move is somehow “attached” to our expansion plans in Canada, but we are not revealing any details yet."
With a wider perspective, as recent dealings like People Can Fly Chicago and Game On have been based in North America, we asked how growth in the region is planned compared to Europe. While there's three main studios in North America now, there's four in Europe with the Warsaw headquarters being the largest at around 200 people. The majority of the team is still in Europe, but according to Wojciechowski, growth in North America is "pretty natural, but we want to keep the right balance at the same time." Overall, though, all of this company's plans to grow as a global brand. To this regard, Wojciechowski said,
"We are very excited about this acquisition and super happy that People Can Fly’s Brand attracts partners like Game On and becomes more and more global – that’s exactly where we want to be."
Outriders is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.