Tencent-owned TiMi opens Seattle studio to make AAA console games

TiMi Studio Group has announced the formation of a new development studio in Seattle, one that will focus on AAA games.

TiMi is a subsidiary of Tencent, and is best known for popular MOBA Honor of Kings, free-to-play shooter Call of Duty: Mobile and the upcoming Pokémon Unite.

The new US team will be working on a new IP, described as a “AAA, service-driven shooting game for multiple platforms,” including consoles. It’s a departure for TiMi, which has primarily focused on mobile (although there is a Switch version of Pokémon Unite).

The office itself will be based in nearby Bellevue, with 25 team members already on board. It will officially open later in 2024.

They will be led by studio director Scott Warner and director of operations Rosi Zagortcheva, both veterans of the AAA space.

Warner has worked at EA, Ubisoft and 343 Industries, with titles such as Halo 4 and Battlefield Hardline to his name.

Zagortcheva, meanwhile, has mostly worked at EA and DICE, gaining experience on multiple Battlefield titles and the 2015 Star Wars: Battlefront.