Steel Wool Studios has picked up a $5 million investment from HTC. The studio was formed in 2011 by Pixar and LucasArts alumni.
Steel Wool Studios, which today announced a $5 million Series A investment from HTC, was founded in 2011 and shifted their focus to VR in 2014, eventually launching Quar: Battle for Gate 18, a virtual reality RTS for the HTC Vive. Among the company’s future projects is Mars Odyssey, a “simulation” for the HTC Vive that’s set to launch on September 9th.
“The Steel Wool Studios team carries an impressive pedigree of creative talent that has already proven its ability to build cutting-edge content for the nascent VR category,” said HTC CEO Cher Wang. “Taking a look at Mars Odyssey and Steel Wool’s other projects under development, it’s immediately clear that this studio will drive VR adoption with great content that balances amazing visual fidelity with strong storytelling.”
In Mars Odyssey, players will head to Mars to repair some of the many robot emissaries that have been sent to the planet. The rovers will be in their actual location on the planet according to NASA data; players will learn more about the planet as they progress through the experience, the company says.
While HTC recently launched the HTC Vive X accelerator—a $100 million VR investment fund and accelerator program—it’s not clear whether or not the investment in Steel Wool Studios is being drawn from the same fund; the studio wasn’t listed among the first investments made by the accelerator. We’ve reached out to the company for clarification.
Steel Wool Studios says that beyond Quar and Mars Odyssey, they’ll soon be talking about upcoming projects which “span game, simulation, and narrative-based concepts.”