Human: Fall Flat Alumni Establish New UK Studio Pretty Cool Games with Backing from Arknights Creator Hypergryph

Pretty Cool Games was founded by two veterans of the hit title Human: Fall Flat—Sitara Shefta, who now serves as chief executive officer, and Will Dudley, the chief creative officer. Their ambition is to create a studio that operates sustainably, treats its staff fairly and shares the financial rewards of success with the whole team. Shefta brings a wealth of experience from her previous role as CEO and studio head of No Brakes Games Tenerife, where she oversaw the development of Human: Fall Flat.

In addition to her industry leadership, she has recently been appointed to the board of the UK Interactive Entertainment Association (TIGA) and holds a seat on the BAFTA Games Committee, where she helps shape policy for the wider games community. Dudley, the studio’s creative lead, was one of the original members of the Human: Fall Flat team. His résumé also includes stints at major publishers and developers such as Sony Interactive Entertainment, Lionhead Studios, Rare and Marmalade Game Studio, giving him a broad perspective on both large‑scale and indie production pipelines.

To get the new, fully remote UK operation off the ground, Pretty Cool Games secured an undisclosed investment from Hypergryph, the Chinese studio best known for the mobile RPG Arknights: Endfield. Shefta explained to GamesIndustry.biz that raising capital is currently challenging, but the appetite for fresh, innovative games remains strong. She added that the partnership with Hypergryph formed quickly because the investors loved the concept for Pretty Cool’s debut title, embraced the studio’s long‑term vision and were enthusiastic about the team’s quirky, out‑of‑the‑box ideas.

The fact that Hypergryph is itself a game‑making company that now wants to support other developers made the collaboration especially appealing. According to Shefta, the bulk of the funding will be poured into the studio’s first game, which draws creative inspiration from a wide range of sources. Nintendo’s playful design ethos, Hazelight’s narrative‑driven cooperative experiences (the makers of *It Takes Two*), the immersive storytelling found in Disney theme‑park attractions, and the physical comedy of classic films such as *The Pink Panther* all inform the project’s direction.

Shefta summed up the ambition: “We want to craft something that is memorable, timeless and so much fun that players look back on it with delight years after they first played it.” Creativity is positioned as a core pillar of the studio’s identity, not only for the developers but also for the players. The upcoming title will leverage the freedom inherent in physics‑based gameplay while layering in systems and level design that encourage unexpected, often humorous outcomes. This approach is intended to let players experiment, express themselves and generate their own stories through play. The investment also enables Pretty Cool Games to build a small, focused team that can be sustained over the long term.

Currently the studio employs four full‑time staff members and plans to grow to ten. Immediate hires include a lead designer, a level designer, an environment artist and a concept artist. Future recruitment will add quality‑assurance specialists and contract roles for character art, audio, user‑interface design and a composer.

Shefta emphasized that keeping the core team lean allows the studio to remain ambitious yet realistic about scope, and to maintain a fair, rewarding workplace. In an industry where mass layoffs have occurred despite successful releases, Pretty Cool Games intends to tie employee compensation to the success of its games through share‑ownership schemes, ensuring that when a title does well, the whole team benefits. Shefta described the studio’s philosophy as “taking the best of AAA and combining it with a smaller, focused team that can experiment, iterate fast, and make decisions quickly.” Her experience working on big‑budget titles taught her the importance of disciplined quality control and an understanding of what makes an intellectual property successful.

However, she also observed that massive budgets can lead to wasteful decisions and make recouping costs difficult, which can be unsustainable in the long run. By contrast, indie development offers speed, efficiency and the freedom to experiment, allowing creators to hone in on a few strong ideas and polish them until they shine. Being part of a smaller team, she noted, gives every individual a larger voice in shaping the final product, which is more fulfilling for creative professionals.

The ultimate goal for Pretty Cool Games is to build a studio that puts the player experience and employee well‑being at the forefront of every decision. While launching a new studio inevitably brings challenges, Shefta is confident that the collective experience she and Dudley have amassed over the years will guide them. She concluded, “We will stay true to our commitment to build games the right way, relying on our knowledge, our passion and the support of partners who share our vision.”