Veteran Game Developer Tom Stone Embarks on New Venture with Peter Pan IP

In 2020, Tom Stone stepped down as managing director of TT Games, the renowned studio behind the Lego games series, after almost 18 years at the helm. Following his departure, Stone took on new roles, including chair of FuturLab and managing director for Juno Capital Partners. A conversation with The Blair Partnership and Great Ormond Street Hospital in 2024 led to the creation of Second Star Games, with Stone at the forefront. The studio's name is inspired by the iconic Disney movie, where Peter Pan gives Wendy directions to Neverland, saying 'Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning.' The new venture is staffed by former TT Games colleagues, including lead game designer Andrew Holt, art director Nicola Daly, and head of engineering Chris Stanforth. Stone is investing in the company, with majority funding coming from Grahame Chilton, who previously supported the development of Lego Star Wars: The Video Game. The team is currently weighing options for partnering with a publisher or self-publishing. Stone aims to do things differently this time, taking a more balanced approach to game development, and learning from the intense experience of creating Lego titles. Despite the success of TT Games, the studio faced criticism for its demanding work culture, which Stone acknowledges and hopes to improve upon in his new endeavor. With Second Star Games, Stone envisions a team-oriented approach, where everyone works together to create exceptional games. The studio's first project is based on the Peter Pan IP, with a focus on co-op play, a feature that Stone believes can bring people together. The goal is to create a memorable gaming experience, and Stone is open to taking on challenging projects to achieve this. The games industry has changed significantly since 2005, with new platforms and changing audience preferences. Stone recognizes the need to adapt and create games that can capture the attention of younger audiences, who are now engaged with games like Roblox, Minecraft, and Fortnite. Working with licensed IP has also evolved, with companies becoming more relaxed about their intellectual property and open to video game adaptations. Stone sees an opportunity for Second Star Games to build a stable of expertise in the young gamer space, with Peter Pan as the first IP in their repertoire. He imagines families gathering around screens to play games together, just as they would share stories around a fire. The vision is to create games that bring people together, with co-op play at the forefront. Stone concludes that the introduction of co-op play in the first Lego Star Wars game was a breakthrough moment, and he aims to build on this success with Second Star Games.