Chicago-based Atom Switch announced that it has received $3.4 million in funding from Hiro Capital and 1Up Ventures to develop its PvE-focused multiplayer FPS game called InfestStation.
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The studio’s founder Dan Sandberg said Atom Switch’s goal is to make a game that has AAA level polishing, “but without the budgetary bloat and crunch that comes along with it.” Sandberg initially founded Atom Switch as a consulting and advisory hub to other game makers, but the studio has become an independent developer in recent years, and he’ll be using the investment to further develop InfestStation, the studio’s debut game. The studio’s headcount will also grow from six developers to 11, and the whole team’s focus will be on InfestStation to make it player-ready as soon as possible.
Sandberg shared the statement below following the announcement of the investment:
“This player and developer forward approach is founded on a framework of mutual respect, transparency, inclusion, accountability, and trust. These are things that shouldn’t be a novel concept, they should be the norm.”
Both Hiro Captial and 1Up Ventures are mainly investing in small to medium-sized video game companies.
Back in February 2022, Hiro Capital launched a $340M fund to invest in video games and metaverse. The venture firm is quite active and helped kickstart quite a number of small independent studios in the last few years. Following the announcement of the fund, Hiro Capital invested in gaming companies like indie publisher Firestoke and FRVR a casual gaming platform.
1Up Ventures have been actively investing in gaming startups of all kinds, from esports to mobile, to blockchain-based games, and so on. In the last two years alone, the venture entity invested in Superbloom, Legendary Play, Lightforge Games, 1047 Games, Core Loop, Return Entertainment, and more.
Spike Laurie, Partner of Hiro Capital said the Atomic Switch team has a compelling take on the coop survival genre and adds that they were sold on the idea the moment they heard the pitch. Laurie said, “We are thrilled to be able to support them in building their vision and a games studio of the future.”
What is InfestStation?
Atom Switch’s InfestStation is a PvE-focused first-person shooter that takes place in outer space. The game has the players taking the role of scavengers, salvaging derelict spaceships to make a living. However, these spaceships aren’t abandoned for no reason, players who are after valuable loot aren’t alone out there and dangers await them.
As for the game’s atmosphere, the Founder and Creative Director Sandberg said the following bit:
“Cold, mechanical futurism combined with scrappy derelict space hulks create these gritty dark spaces where shadow and sound play on the mind.
Tight, claustrophobic pathways connect larger areas to create a web of space ripe for hidden clues and jump scares. Once-gleaming hard surfaces are marred by stain, decay, and the overgrowth of infestation and abandonment which add organic touches to an otherwise metallic landscape.”
InfestStation is being developed on Epic’s Unreal Engine and will launch on PC and consoles, however, the gaming startup didn’t share a release date yet as it’s still in an early development stage.
Atom Switch’s team consists of games industry veterans from Fortnite to Darksiders, and the names behind the gaming entity strongly underline that “micro-transactions are not the sole foundation for success.”
Sandberg also adds “crunch is not a scheduling tool, toxic work culture is not a consequence of growth” to his statement and says the team is determined to clear the wrongs they see in the gaming industry around them.
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