Methodical

Methodical Games, Inc. is an independent video game studio based in Raleigh, North Carolina, formed in 2022 by a group of developers previously at Epic Games, Respawn Entertainment and Infinity Ward. At launch the team numbered nine people and was growing, with credits across franchises including Fortnite, Apex Legends and Call of Duty. The studio is led by co-founder, CEO and Game Director Frank (Francesco) Gigliotti, who worked on Fortnite at Epic Games and was a founding member of Infinity Ward; Design Director and co-founder Adam Bellefeuil, who spent 15 years at Epic Games; and Technical Director and co-founder Dave Ratti, who spent about ten years at Epic and worked on titles including Fortnite, Doom and Rage.

The company's first project is an original IP: a multiplayer action-adventure game emphasizing close-quarters combat, set in a fantastical, vast living world in which players undertake adventures with friends. As of the November 2022 announcement, the title was in the early stages of pre-production, and seed capital was designated to expand development toward bringing the first title to market.

Staff profiles published by the company show a team drawn from studios including Infinity Ward, Respawn Entertainment, Paradigm Entertainment, Sony Online, People Can Fly, Blackbird Interactive, Avalanche Studios, Defiant Studios, WB Games, EA Motive and A Thinking Ape, spanning engineering, environment and concept art, technical animation and systems design.

Founding story

Methodical Games was introduced publicly on November 15, 2022 as a newly formed team of nine industry veterans, most with over two decades of game development experience, who had previously worked together at various points of their careers at Epic Games, Respawn Entertainment and Infinity Ward. The founders stated they were building a studio modeled on patterns they had observed leading to success: a small, talented team, direct cross-discipline collaboration, quick iteration and developer-driven processes. Although the founding team's background is largely in first-person shooters, the studio's first game was explicitly not a multiplayer shooter but an attempt to apply shooter-development experience to a new genre.

Business model

Independent, venture-backed game development studio creating original intellectual property for players.

Traction

Formed with nine team members and growing at announcement in November 2022, with $15 million in seed capital raised and multiple open roles; the first original IP remained in early pre-production at that time.

Latest developments

The company's website lists an expanded team across engineering, design, environment art, concept art and technical animation, with members describing contributions to a new, unannounced IP.