Former Human: Fall Flat Developers Open New Studio in Leeds
A new UK game studio founded by two veterans of Human: Fall Flat — the wobbly physics puzzle game that became one of the best-selling indie titles of the past decade — opened its doors in Leeds this week.
Pretty Cool Games is led by Sitara Shefta as CEO and Will Dudley as chief creative officer. Shefta previously served as CEO and studio director at No Brakes Games, the studio behind Human: Fall Flat, where she set up and directed the development team. Her earlier credits include LittleBigPlanet 3, Disney Infinity and Dead Island 2. Dudley also worked on Human: Fall Flat at No Brakes Games, with prior stints at Lionhead Studios, Rare and SIE — the internal game-development arm of Sony Interactive Entertainment. VGC
The studio has already started work on its first project: a double-A sandbox game focused on player expression, with emergent gameplay and physics-based mechanics. "Double-A" sits between the budgets of a small indie game and a full blockbuster release — a tier that has drawn renewed publisher interest in recent years. The game is also described as a physics-based adventure sandbox, according to the UK Games Fund, which awarded Pretty Cool Games funding in Round 18 of its grant programme. UK Games Fund
Pretty Cool Games is based in Leeds and is actively hiring, with artists and level designers as the current priority. The studio will offer employees the option to work remotely, joining a growing list of UK developers that have embraced flexible arrangements since the pandemic-era shift in working practices. VGC
Funding for the studio comes from two sources. Coreblazer, the investment arm of Chinese game company Hypergryph, provided backing — making Pretty Cool Games Hypergryph's first investment in Europe. The UK Games Fund, a government-backed grant scheme for early-stage game developers, also awarded funding for the debut title. Hypergryph is known for the mobile and PC title Arknights, a strategy game with a large following in China and beyond.
What makes the studio's formation worth watching is the pedigree behind it. Human: Fall Flat sold over 50 million copies across platforms, according to No Brakes Games, making it one of the most commercially successful indie games ever released. Shefta and Dudley were both part of the team that built it. Their new project leans into the same territory — physics-driven, player-expression-focused sandbox design — but at a scale that aims beyond the indie tier.
No release window, platform targets or publisher partnership for the first game have been announced. For now, the studio is in build mode: hiring, prototyping and drawing on two careers' worth of experience at some of the UK's best-known studios.
