A co-founder from Sony’s recently acquired smartphone developer Savage Game Studios has left the Helsinki and Berlin-based company as he looks for “equilibrium” in life. In a refreshingly candid post, Michail Katkoff – who co-founded the studio, having previously worked at developers like Rovio – said that it was “time to say goodbye” after taking the team from “zero to one”.
“Now I’m eager to watch from the side as [fellow co-founders] Nadjim Adjir and Mike McManus take it from one to one hundred,” he revealed. “In the same breath, I wish nothing but the best to Olivier Courtemanche and Kris Davis who are leading PlayStation’s charge onto mobile. Can’t wait to play all the amazing games from all the fantastic developers!”
Katkoff went on to explain that he’s leaving his role in order to find a better work/life balance. He explained: “For as long as I remember, my mentality was to push tirelessly to pursue my career and financial goals. Little did I know, this pursuit came at the expense of friendships, parental life, marriage, and mental health.”
We still don’t know what Savage Game Studios is working on, but it’s being billed as Sony’s first big foray into mobile. A variety of job listings have described the project as a “AAA mobile live service action game”, but that obviously could entail pretty much anything. Hopefully we don’t have to wait too much longer to learn what it’s got in store.
