Mario + Rabbids creator Davide Soliani has started a new studio, alongside Red Dead Redemption writer and lead designer Christian Cantamessa and many of the Ubisoft Milan heads, including producer Cristina Nava, who also worked on Star Wars Outlaws.
This new studio, called Day 4 Night, with offices in Milan, California and Los Angeles, will focus on “delivering deeply heartfelt and original games that innovate in storytelling and design”. Its first game will be co-directed by Soliani and Cantamessa, and is a new IP.
“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,” says Soliani. “Day 4 Night is a return to that innovative spirit, to that innocence, to that unbridled creativity”, adds Cantanessa.
Day 4 Night will get funds by PUBG studio Krafton
The independent studio has secured funding from Krafton, korean publisher behind PUBG Battlegrounds, that is expanding its ventures into more international studios and traditional single-player console games. Only this week, they announced plans to release Tango Gamework’s Hi-Fi Rush 2 as well as the mobile version of Palworld.
“Day 4 Night’s pitch presented a highly engaging and captivating story,” sais Maria Park, Krafton’s VP and Head of Corporate Development. “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.'”
The new studio also received funding by Xbox co-creator Ed Fries’ 1Up Ventures. Cantamessa and Soliani are joined by co-founders Cristina Nava, Gian Marco Zanna and Luca Breda, veteran producers from Ubisoft Milan.
Reportedly, the second Mario + Rabbids game on Switch reportedly didn’t sell enough. But the talent of Soliani’s team is inmessurable, so thankfully it won’t be wasted at Ubisoft as an Assassin’s Creed support studio, and will be able to use it to create something new.