MacSoft parent company Destineer has announced plans to open its next development studio in Raleigh, NC. The news comes on the heels of MacSoft’s announcement that it plans to bring Age of Empires III to the Macintosh this September.
In addition to its Mac game conversion efforts through MacSoft, Destineer also develops and publishes its own games, such as last year’s Close Combat: First to Fight, a first person shooter that put you in charge of a four-man Marine fire team engaged in urban combat in Beirut, Lebanon.
The Raleigh development studio will initially develop commercial videogames and training simulations based on Destineer’s work with the US intelligence community, according to a statement issued by Destineer. The technology used for First to Fight was co-developed for work with US intelligence. Destineer is based near Minneapolis, Minn.
“We picked Raleigh as the location for this studio because it has a strong existing videogame development community, 3 of the nation’s top universities, and because, frankly, you can buy a gorgeous 4-bedroom house 15 minutes away from the office for about the same price as renting a 2-bedroom apartment on either coast,” said Destineer President Peter Tamte.
Several other major videogame development studios also call the Raleigh area home, including Red Storm Entertainment and Epic Games.
Destineer creative director Juan Benito, co-founder of Red Storm Entertainment, will begin operations at the studio on August 28, 2006. Destineer said it has positions available in engineering, art and design. Destineer ultimately hopes to employ at least 100 engineers, artists, designers, QA staff and management at the new location.