In game development, creativity is king but processes are the foundation the castle is built on. The end product that lands in consumers’ hands is the result of exhaustive iteration, as design concepts are tested, re-rested, and either thrown out or improved, not unlike a sculptor slowly chipping away at a block of raw marble to make their vision a tangible reality. While early ideation can embrace blue-sky flights of fancy, the successful execution of those ideas must be—in a word—methodical.
Enter Methodical Games. When we first spoke with the team at Methodical, we were immediately struck by their clarity of purpose, their deep well of experience, and their desire to build an inclusive studio that will attract top talent in the industry. Their creative and executive core is anchored by veterans of Epic Games, Respawn Entertainment, and Infinity Ward—the studios behind Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Call of Duty, some of the largest and most successful franchises in modern gaming history, with more than $52B in combined lifetime revenues.
Methodical co-founders Francesco Gigliotti, Adam Bellefeuil, and Dave Ratti are industry pros with decades of experience, giving them a unique mix of entrepreneurial insight, deep design abilities, and technical expertise—the kind of excellence that Transcend looks for in our portfolio. They understand what it takes to build a successful studio from the ground up, and pride themselves on a detail-oriented approach to game design that focuses on meticulously crafted gameplay.
While their background is steeped in multiplayer shooters, Methodical is taking a different approach with their first game—an original IP billed as a multiplayer action adventure with an emphasis on close-quarters combat, set in a fantastical world. Creating vividly detailed virtual domains where players can come together and have exhilarating experiences is ingrained in Methodical’s DNA, and younger generations of players increasingly see these sorts of digital spaces as having the same importance as the physical world. Games have had to innovate to deliver on this need for agency, exploration and challenging worlds. We’ve seen this expressed recently through AAA grand slams like Elden Ring and super indie hits like Valheim, where players join forces to explore and bring down mythical monsters.
At Transcend, we see exceptional opportunities in games that allow players to forge memorable stories with their friends in astonishingly imaginative worlds. We’re excited to see what the Methodical team builds to serve both current and new generations of gamers, and we believe their passion, expertise, and focused approach will deliver unforgettable experiences.
About Transcend Fund
Transcend is a top performing early stage venture capital firm that partners with the boldest founders in the industry to collaboratively build the future of interactive entertainment.
Founded in San Francisco by gaming veterans, the Transcend portfolio features a preeminent group of high growth digital entertainment companies around the world.
More information about Transcend can be found on our website. Follow us on LinkedIn for the latest news from around the Transcend ecosystem.
About Shanti Bergel
Shanti is the founding partner of Transcend and a 30 year game industry veteran.
His global operating experience spans every major platform and business model transition of the last several decades and is animated by a career-long fascination with how changes in technology and distribution affect products, services, and communities.
Shanti is a recognized member of the Techcrunch List, speaks fluent Japanese, and is a frequent speaker on early stage investment, M&A, and strategic partnerships in digital entertainment.