If you’re not familiar with Certain Affinity, they’ve likely worked on titles you’ve played but may not realize it. Founded by Max Hoberman, part of the team at Bungie who was instrumental in the rise of Halo, the studio is based in Austin, Texas and celebrating its 15 year anniversary in 2021. They’ve collaborated on projects such as Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary, Doom, and Call of Duty Modern Warfare Remastered.
Yesterday evening, Certain Affinity announced that they’ve signed a deal to develop a new, original IP. According to Hoberman, this is wholly new, and the team is building to approximately 250 employees to support it. Further details can’t be shared at this time, but it’s likely it’s some sort of exclusive title for a major publisher. You can find the formal press release here, as well as Hoberman’s statement below:
“We have been building towards this project for the past few years. We’re thrilled to have signed an agreement to lead development on our most ambitious title to date. This game is our creative vision to lead and our team is exceptionally passionate about it.”
Our Take
This is really interesting and we’re excited to see what they’re working on specifically. Certain Affinity is a very talented group and for what it’s worth, they have a long history of working with the teams at Xbox. So given the direction Xbox is going with partnerships, it wouldn’t surprise us to see this end up being a major third-party exclusive in the future. Time will tell!
