RDR and Mario + Rabbids Devs Announce New Studio

With the advent of CEOs and money people searching for more of it all the time, we’ve seen a lot of developers either leave before they are kicked or kicked before they could leave. The truth is, with so many studios seeing redundancies and “restructuring” – Hitman 3 VR developer XR Games seeing lay-offs this week, reportedly – many developers are quickly turning away from larger Triple-A studios. Announced yesterday, Red Dead Redemption writer Christian Cantamessa and Mario + Rabbids creative director Davide Soliani launched a new studio, Day 4 Night.

Of course, the two have done much more than just that, Cantamessa wrote The Crew, Manhunt 1 and 2, and did some work on the Middle-earth series too. Soliani is a bit more varied, working on Beyond Good & Evil, the Just Dance series as creative director, and of course both Mario + Rabbids games and the “Donkey Kong Adventure” DLC. The announcement of Day 4 Night came in a press release revealing the studio’s formation and the funding, coming from KRAFTON and Ed Fries’ 1UP Ventures.

On the announcement, Cantamessa said the following: “When I first fell in love with video games at the start of my career, I saw the power of this new medium to tell stories never told before and create worlds that could transform people. Day 4 Night is a return to that innovative spirit, to that innocence, to that unbridled creativity.“

Continuing on, Soliani said: “What we are crafting at Day 4 Night is a reflection of everything I’ve ever wanted to experience as a player – joy, adventure, poetry, action, wonder, and the pleasure of working with friends. It’s a lullaby for my soul and a serenade to our industry, to the magic and the madness of creating worlds from nothing. It’s a story about triumphs, challenges, [and] dreams, to light the path we walk together.”

KRAFTON’s VP and head of corporate development (money people), Maria Park also commented: “Day 4 Night’s pitch presented a highly engaging and captivating story. The game’s vision stands out as both original and creative, making it a great match for the type of studios we aim to support at KRAFTON. It aligns well with our mission to ‘Scale up the Creative.”

Then lastly we got word from Ed Fries, former VP of games publishing at Microsoft during the launch of the Xbox, saying: “When you see a lot of pitches, like we do, it’s always incredibly fun when you get to hear an idea that’s completely new and original. This was easily the most creative thing we have seen in quite some time.“

We didn’t get anything from the studio’s other founding members, Cristina Nava, Glan Marco Zanna, and Luca Breda. Individually having previously worked on such titles as Mario + Rabbids, Star Wars: Outlaws, the Just Dance series, and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint. I’m seeing a very Ubisoft-based pattern. Though of course, thus far we know practically nothing about Day 4 Night’s first game. In fact, all we got from the press release was “The studio’s first project is an entirely original new game.” The sky is blue, water makes things wet (it isn’t wet itself), and the grass is green.

For regular updates, you can check in on the studio’s website and follow the socials. Until then, we’ll just have to wait to find out what Day 4 Night’s next move is as it is “focused on delivering deeply heartfelt and original games that innovate in storytelling and design.”