Spec Ops: The Line director and Nine Inch Nails guitarist working on new cosmic horror game
At newly founded studio Eyes Out.
Cory Davis, creative director and designer on Spec Ops: The Line, and Nine Inch Nails guitarist Robin Finck have joined forces to establish a new game studio, Eyes Out.
Based in Los Angeles, Eyes Out is said to consist of a team of "passionate world-builders and storytellers who believe in the powerful synesthesia that emerges from music, narrative, and interactive experiences". Work on the studio's first project is currently underway, and while specifics are limited, it's described as a "single-player immersive cosmic horror game with strong environmental storytelling elements."
The project won't be Davis' first tangle with the horror genre; while cult favourite 2012 shooter Spec Ops: The Line is perhaps his most discussed work, Davis' packed resume also features level design credits on the horror-heavy Condemned 2: Bloodshot and F.E.A.R: Extraction Point, and he served as director on 2016's surreal PSVR horror title Here They Lie.
According to the press release accompanying Eyes Out's official unveiling, Davis and Finck - who has also previously dabbled in the world of video game horror, having contributed to the scores of No Code's sci-fi thriller Observation and Devolver Digital's top-down horror shooter NOCT - met during the development of Here They Lie.
"We instantly started working on some prototypes I had in development at the time," explains Davis, "and together we launched straight toward something unexpected. Robin's vibrant and boundless approach to the creative process drives our work far beyond my previous experience. It's such an exhilarating trip to venture into the darkness together."
Eyes Out says it will have more to share on its first project in "the months to come".