Space Ape spin-out studio NextBeat is now targeting game publishing and music/wellbeing apps as it readies its Guitar Hero-style take on Beatstar for launch later this year.
The UK studio currently has 32 staff, and has just added Space Ape, Fortis and Mind Candy veteran Martyn Jones to its ranks to build out its non-gaming arm.
Jones will lead the charge as the studio develops apps designed to help users’ wellbeing through music, having previously led teams in the education space as well as games. Jones also worked alongside EA founder Trip Hawkins at kids’ edutainment company If You Can.
NextBeat cofounder Simon Hade told us that his firm also plans to publish other game developers’ titles, and that its new rock/metal-themed music game “has the potential to surpass Beatstar”.
The NextBeat team got to work in January but has already seen live ops changes “deliver a 20% uplift to our revenue baseline,” said Hade.
“Next we’re going to work with a select few game developers in a publisher capacity,” he told us. “There are many game formats that lend themselves to music gameplay that we’re not going to have bandwidth to execute, but there are talented teams out there with expertise in those categories.”
“Maybe they have not thought about adapting their game to music, or perhaps they have tried and failed. That’s no shame – even the biggest companies in the world struggle engaging with the music industry and that’s NextBeat’s USP.”
Hade added that Martyn Jones’ appointment as head of NextBeat’s music apps business is a big step forward for that side of its business, though it’s early days there.
“The first area that is interesting to us is mental health and well being,” Hade told us. “We’ve got a very specific idea that we’re working up right now with some amazing partners, and that will be our first priority.”
“Next, we’re eager to enter the music education space. Now as a music-first company, as opposed to a music games company, we’re empowered to chase these opportunities and I think they are 5x bigger than the opportunity in music games.”
NextBeat span out of Space Ape in January, and took around 30 staff with it as Supercell’s acquisition of Space Ape begun to play out. The firm also revealed to us its intention to release ‘the next Guitar Hero‘ in the form of that rock/metal-themed edition of Beatstar, set for launch later this year.
