It's unlikely Insomniac would agree with Rovio's assessment that console gaming is dying, but news that the Resistance studio will set up a studio focusing on web and mobile game development shows just where it thinks its bread will be buttered in the future.

Rather than a direct shift, however, the developer has decided to launch a dedicated offshoot designed to focus on both markets, dubbed Insomniac Click.

Passion meets pragmatism

The new studio will be tasked will fully engaging with the mobile-social gaming scene, but Insomniac CCO Brian Hastings says the company is acutely aware the games that result should be of a high quality, rather than just a quick cash in.

"This is something we're passionate about," Hastings said on the developer's blog, before adding that it was also a "pragmatic necessity".

"The gaming landscape is changing faster now than at any time in the industry’s existence. More people are playing games every day than ever before and the kinds of games they are playing are diversifying more rapidly than ever," he said.

Old meets new

Insomniac, which is also behind the Ratchet & Clank series, isn't abandoning its core audience, however, but rather taking its core values and expanding them to a new breed of consumer.

"We want more complex interactions and deeper forms of gameplay, but as core games have become increasingly complex the barrier to entry for everyone else has often become higher and higher," he added.

"As a result, the games with the highest production values are simply impossible to play for the vast majority of people in the world."

Hastings does admit he doesn't social games as games in the traditional sense – the Insomniac man describing titles on Facebook as more than an "activity" – but he believes claims it will still be a valid vessel for delivering the studio's creativity.

"Insomniac Click is dedicated to taking the qualities that define our brand - deep worlds, rich stories, accessible gameplay – and applying them to new game experiences that anyone in the world can play."

[source: Insomniac Games]