Wideload Games has announced itself to the world, a new developer formed by Bungie alumnus Alexander Seropian. The announcement features word on plans for a Halo-engine game, and though no details like the title or target platforms are included, the announcement does focus extensively on the apparent innovation of planning projects in advance:

CHICAGO, IL (APRIL 26, 2004) - Wideload Games, Inc. (www.wideload.com), unveiled itself to the world today as a new development studio dedicated to making hit video and computer games by injecting a unique blend of their visionary development model, creative gameplay and oddball humor into the computer and video games industry. Wideload was started by Alexander Seropian, industry veteran and founder of Bungie Studios of Halo, Myth and Marathon fame.

Wideload brings together some of the brightest talents in the videogame industry with a singular focus on creating original games with a new kind of production model. Wideload’s team designs and creates playable game prototypes in their Chicago lab. This focus on prototyping and pre-production eliminates many production risks as the team is able to see all of the technical and creative issues prior to going into full production. Once the prototype is approved, Wideload pulls together the best independent talent in the industry to complete the game’s production. The company will work with publishers and distributors to bring their final vision to gaming consumers.

“This is a variant of the model that’s been successful in film for quite some time,” says Seropian. “We develop the intellectual property and put together the technology and production pipeline in-house. Then we leverage our team to manage a staff of independent talent.” This combination of an internal design team coupled with external production teams gives Wideload the flexibility to have extremely thorough pre-production, prototypes of multiple titles at once, and scale for production efficiently. In addition, Wideload’s development model eliminates risk for Wideload partners by having a complete and proven plan before staffing production.

Wideload may be an unfamiliar name, but the company itself oozes a familiar blend of creativity and oddball humor that gamers around the world have loved for years now. Joining Seropian, who has built a successful and respected 13+-year career in the game industry, is a short list of former senior Bungie programmers, artists, and designers. Wideload's first title, a wildly innovative game powered by the Halo™ engine, is currently in production and expected to hit store shelves in 2005.