Kuju restructures to allow for future growth
British developer Kuju Entertainment has announced plans to build on recent successes by dividing into four core business units, giving each of its divisions more autonomy and preparing a clear strategy for future growth.
British developer Kuju Entertainment has announced plans to build on recent successes by dividing into four core business units, giving each of its divisions more autonomy and preparing a clear strategy for future growth.
The company plans to create action, wireless, racing and new projects divisions within its corporate structure, each focusing on a different part of the developer's business.
The action and wireless segments are already hugely successful in their own right, with the action team recently publishing the PlayStation 2's first online FPS title, WarHammer 40,000: Firewarrior through publisher THQ, while the wireless division continues to go from strength to strength, recently releasing Lotus Challenge: City Racing on Java enabled handsets as well as working on a number of projects for industry leaders such as Nokia.
The action division will be spread across the London and Godalming studios, and will be headed up by Julian Davis, while the wireless division will continue to be run by Kevin Holloway and operates from the Godalming studio.
The other two divisions, racing and new projects, are expected to establish themselves strongly under the new structure. Kuju already has significant experience in developing racing games - Lotus Challenge being one of its best known projects in this area - and this new division will be run for now by Kuju MD Jonathan Newth pending the appointment of a dedicated general manager, while the new projects division will be based at the company's Sheffield studio and run by Tony Kavanagh.
"As Kuju continues to grow and develop, we feel it is crucial for each area of the business to stay focussed on its core technical and creative area as well as on its bottom line," explained Kuju managing director Jonathan Newth. "Action and Wireless have proven track records and obtained great reputations, both creatively and technically, and have huge potential for growth. Racing and New Projects now have to establish a similar foothold and we expect that their current projects will do just that."