Boss Alien founder and TT Games Studio Head Jason Avent has announced the formation of Hardball Games, a new studio based in Brighton in the UK, reports Mobilegamer.biz.

Joining founder and managing director Avent at Hardball Games are a number of Boss Alien alumni, including former product lead Chris Bowles, who co-founded Hardball and serves as creative director. TT Odyssey technical director Julian Adams also joins the team as co-founder and technical director.

“Our mission is to create world-beating interactive entertainment that allows people to play together in innovative and satisfying new ways,” reads the company’s website. “Our games are cross-play, multiplatform and multiplayer. We create experiences for large groups of players looking for something innovative and different to play together.”

“We believe that to make fun games, we have to have fun making them together. We encourage people to take risks in a safe and collaborative space where everyone is encouraged to input to the design process.”

The formation of Hardball Games follows a successful seed founding round led by Griffin Gaming Partners and Playdemic founders Alex Rigby and Paul Gouge, which raised $5.2 million.

“We’re thrilled to have secured funding from Griffin, Paul and Alex,” said Avent. “As a new studio with proven experience and a clear strategy it was important for us to find the right partners.”

“With Paul and Alex we get to work with industry entrepreneurs who have built a billion-dollar, free-to-play games business, in partnership with Griffin who have recognised the importance of our proven credentials and the opportunity to capture a huge cross-platform audience with brand new ways to play together.”

“Jason and his team have a wealth of experience creating hit free-to-play game franchises like CSR Racing and in running live services,” said Griffin Gaming Partners co-founder and managing director Phil Sanderson.

We previously spoke to James Avent about the development of LEGO Star Wars Battle.