Tantalus Interactive today announced the establishment of Tantalus Asia, a studio based in Kuala Lumpur that will focus on developing titles for wireless devices. Based in Melbourne, Australia, Tantalus Interactive was founded in 1994 and has established a reputation as one of the world’s leading handheld game developers. The company also makes games for console, including the recent hit Unreal 2 for X-Box.
The Malaysian studio is a joint venture between Tantalus Interactive and Malaysian media company eTouch Globiz. The studio started development on its first titles in October last year, and has already grown to ten employees. The company expects to employ an additional twenty local programmers and artists by the end of the year.
Tantalus Interactive CEO Tom Crago said the Malaysian studio provided the ideal launching pad for the company to make a strong play in the wireless space. "We’d wanted to get into wireless development for some time, and with the approach from eTouch, who were already well established in the Malaysian market, we finally had our chance. We’ve been very impressed by the talent pool in Malaysia, and of course it remains a very cost-effective base for game development."
eTouch Globiz Chairman Adeline Tang echoed Crago’s enthusiasm. "After assessing the market, we handpicked Tantalus to partner with us in Malaysia. We felt their handheld technology was among the best around, and we were convinced this would translate well into the wireless space. We’ve been very impressed so far."
Already, Tantalus Asia has contracts in place to provide content to Malaysia’s three leading telecommunications companies. A major television IP has been secured, with a game set for release in late May, and the company has achieved ‘Multimedia Super Corridor’ status, entitling it to a range of benefits pursuant to this Malaysian Government backed-scheme.
At this year’s E3, Tantalus Asia will meet with publishers in an effort to secure more projects for the burgeoning Kuala Lumpur studio. "We’re looking to continue our rapid expansion," said Crago. "The talent is there and we’ve already developed some impressive re-usable engine technology. We’re aiming to have another five or six games out in 2004, along with around thirty that we’ve aggregated from developers in North America and Europe."
Tantalus Asia will also develop content for Interactive Television and for Nokia’s N-Gage platform.