Zynga Chief Game Designer Likely To Start Own Game Studio

Just a few days ago, we told you that Brian Reynolds, Zynga's chief game designer is stepping down from his post after almost four years at the company. At the time, it wasn't clear what Reynolds planned on doing next, but the man has spoken, and while he's still not 100% sure what he's going to do, starting up a small game studio is likely in the cards.

In a guest post on VentureBeat, Reynolds discusses the good times that he's had at Zynga, and reflects on the past at Big Huge Games, as well as co-founding Firaxis Games alongside Sid Meier. However, while we was grateful for the time spent at these studios, Reynolds says he ready to "shift into a different gear," and is thinking about starting his own small game studio.

Reynolds says that this would give him the power to do things that he wasn't able to do at Zynga or other past jobs. He says he misses "getting to write code personally and make fun with [his] own hands." He even says he misses the days of "day-to-day panics of being somewhere small and new and vulnerable, and the excitement of owning a small company."

Reynolds notes that he wants to take risks and do stuff that might not be up to snuff for a publicly-traded company like Zynga. Thus, Reynolds says that "starting a little studio with a few wingmen...is likely to be on the menu." As far as what he plans to do at this studio, should he start it up, he notes that mobile strategy games are a big interest for him.

[via VentureBeat]

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