A few months ago, it was revealed that the founders of Poland-based game developer People Can Fly had decided to leave the company after it was fully acquired by Epic Games. Today, it was revealed that those team members have launched an all new game studio and will use Epic"s Unreal Engine 3 for its first project.
The team"s name is The Astronauts, and its founders (Adrian Chmielarz, Andrzej Poznanski and Michal Kosieradzki) have signed on the dotted line to use Unreal Engine for multiple titles. The first game will be coming out sometime in 2013. Details about the game have yet to be revealed, but The Astronauts claim in their press release they want to make games that are "focused on imaginative visuals and rich story-telling, with gameplay designed to challenge industry conventions."
Previously, the team behind The Astronauts lead People Can Fly to create the original Painkiller, released in 2004. Ironically, this game is being remade by another team using Unreal Engine 3. Painkiller: Hell & Damnation is scheduled to be released on October 31st.
After Painkiller, the team at People Can Fly worked on the PC port of Gears of War and then collaborated with Epic on the 2011 first person shooter Bulletstorm, which was not a sales success despite solid reviews. People Can Fly is currently working on Gears of War Judgement, due out in the spring of 2013.
Source: The Astronauts | Image via The Astronauts