Astrid Entertainment

Astrid Entertainment is a game and entertainment studio founded by former Amazon and Fox executive Sharon Tal Yguado. It brings together worldbuilders and game developers to create original intellectual property that begins in games and is intended to extend across additional media experiences and platforms. The studio positions itself as an entertainment group rather than a games-only developer, treating film, television and other media outlets as potential future formats for its IP while investing in social and interactive experiences first.

Its first project is an untitled cooperative open-world simulation described as a "living adventure sandbox" aimed at a teenage audience. The design blends role-playing game elements — worldbuilding, story, exploration and discovery — with sandbox creation tools, supported by rich lore, environmental storytelling and dynamic systems intended to generate emergent multiplayer stories. Players own their worlds and invite family and friends into them rather than meeting strangers on public servers, and the game is framed as an adventure rather than a survival or combat-driven title, with player powers used to shape the land instead of destroy it. Connecting players with shared interests through wider worlds and social hubs is described as a later ambition.

The team is deliberately small, at roughly 15 people at the start of 2025, and draws staff from both games and linear entertainment, including people from Industrial Light & Magic, Disney Imagineering, Epic Games, Rare and PlayStation, with emphasis on environmental storytelling and systems design.

Founding story

Sharon Tal Yguado, who spent over a decade in senior roles at Fox and Amazon building studio divisions and media platforms, announced the creation of Astrid Entertainment and moved from linear entertainment into games after hearing a pitch for a magical open world that she considered inherently interactive and social. She has said the concept represented a deliberate shift away from the darker, edgier franchises she had previously worked on, toward positive but dynamic experiences.

Traction

A proof of concept and demo for the first title were completed by early 2025 and were being tested in friends-and-family sessions. The team stood at 15 people, with hiring underway and production targeted to begin later in 2025.

Latest developments

In its 2025 interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Astrid said it had just finished a proof of concept and demo for its untitled living adventure sandbox, was conducting friends-and-family tests, was hiring for new positions, had started pre-production and intended to begin production later in the year.