Stellar Core is a new Helsinki-based studio founded by Touko Tahkokallio and Serdar Soganci, former game leads on Brawl Stars, Everdale, Clash Quest and Best Fiends.
It is backed by Zooba and Tennis Clash maker Wildlife and is packed with ex-Seriously talent following the Playtika-owned studio’s recent closure.
Cofounder and chief creative officer Touko Tahkokallio is a Supercell veteran and former game lead on Brawl Stars, Everdale and Clash Quest. He was also previously an original game designer on Boom Beach and Hay Day. Fellow cofounder and studio director Serdar Soganci is a former head of studio at Rovio and until recently was game lead on Best Fiends at Seriously.
The rest of the Stellar Core team is all ex-Seriously talent. Tech director Sylvain Cunzi, art lead Vilma Ahvenniemi, game artists JP Tanhua and Juha Koppström plus programmers Pasi Laaksonen and Sampo Ranta-aho are all former staffers at the Best Fiends maker.
“Wildlife Studios has offered us an opportunity of a lifetime,” said Tahkokallio. “In doing so, we will be laser-focused on creating games that we’ve been dreaming about for years. With the abundance of talent in Helsinki we are excited for the future of Stellar Core and what we will be creating together.”
The announcement states that Stellar Core’s games will not be constrained to any particular genre and will leverage the team’s learnings from past games.
Stellar Core is the latest addition to Wildlife’s growing studio portfolio. The Brazilian firm’s recent investments now include five brand new studios, all led by folks with real pedigree:
- Never Forget (EA and Zynga veterans Ray Mazza and Mike Duke)
- Superwow (EA and Real Racing 3 veteran Lu Gigliotti)
- Foxbear (Ex-Marvel Strike Force director Jonathan Durr)
- Moon Tavern (Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes, Words With Friends, Top Eleven veterans Justin Jones and Marta Velasco)
- Playabit (Toy Blast and Toon Blast creators Tugrul Atak, Ayhan Sahin, and Ant Sengelli)
