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 shared vision is to create a studio that operates sustainably, treats its staff fairly, and shares the financial rewards of success with the team. Shefta brings extensive leadership experience to the venture.
She previously ran No Brakes Games Tenerife as CEO and studio head, where she oversaw the development of Human: Fall Flat. In addition to her industry credentials, she has been elected to the board of the UK Interactive Entertainment Association (TIGA) and sits on the BAFTA Games Committee, giving her a broad perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing game developers today.
Dudley, on the other hand, was one of the original members of the Human: Fall Flat team. His résumé includes stints at major publishers and studios such as Sony Interactive Entertainment, Lionhead Studios, Rare, and Marmalade Game Studio. This blend of indie and AAA experience informs the studio’s ambition to combine the polish of big‑budget titles with the agility of a small, focused team. To get the new, fully remote UK studio off the ground, Pretty Cool Games secured an undisclosed investment from the Chinese developer Hypergryph, best known for the popular mobile RPG Arknights: Endfield.
Shefta explained to GamesIndustry.biz that raising capital has become increasingly difficult, but she believes the appetite for fresh, innovative games remains strong. "From our very first conversation with Hypergryph, we clicked. They loved our concept, backed our long‑term studio vision, and embraced our quirky ideas. The fact that they are developers themselves, now supporting other creators, made them an ideal partner," she said.
According to Shefta, the bulk of the funding will be directed toward the studio’s debut project. The game draws inspiration from a variety of sources: the whimsical charm of classic Nintendo titles, the cooperative storytelling of Hazelight’s Splitgate, the immersive world‑building found in Disney theme parks, and the physical comedy of films like The Pink Panther.
Shefta summed up the ambition: "We want to craft something memorable, timeless, and so much fun that players look back on it with delight years after their first play session." Creativity is positioned as a core pillar of the studio’s identity, both for the developers and the players. The upcoming title will give players a sandbox of physics‑based tools that encourage experimentation, unexpected solutions, and personal expression.
Shefta highlighted how the game’s systems and level design will be built to support a wide range of wild scenarios, allowing gamers to improvise and discover humor in the same way slapstick cinema does. The Hypergryph investment also enables Pretty Cool Games to assemble a small, highly skilled team that can be maintained over the long term. Currently, the studio employs four full‑time staff members, with plans to grow to ten.
Immediate hires include a lead designer, a level designer, an environment artist, and a concept artist. Future recruitment will expand into quality assurance, contract roles for character art, audio, user interface design, and even a dedicated composer. Shefta emphasized the importance of keeping the core team compact while remaining ambitious about the project’s scope.
"We are aiming for a studio that is sustainable and fair to our employees. Recent industry layoffs have shown that success does not always translate into job security for developers. We want to change that by offering share schemes and profit‑sharing so that if our games succeed, the whole team benefits," she explained. The studio’s philosophy is to blend the best practices of AAA development – disciplined quality control, strong IP thinking, and rigorous production pipelines – with the nimbleness and experimental spirit of indie studios.
Shefta reflected on her AAA background: "Working on large‑budget projects taught me the value of quality and what makes an IP successful, but it also revealed how massive budgets can lead to waste and make recouping costs extremely challenging. Indie development lets you iterate quickly, focus on a few core ideas, and bring something special to market without the overhead of a blockbuster." In a smaller team, every member’s voice carries weight, which Shefta believes leads to more meaningful creative contributions. "When the team is tight‑knit, each person can shape the game directly, and that sense of ownership fuels passion and innovation," she said.
Ultimately, Pretty Cool Games aims to put both player experience and employee wellbeing at the forefront of its mission. Shefta acknowledged that launching a new studio will inevitably face obstacles, but she is confident that the collective experience she and Dudley have amassed over the years will guide them through. "We are committed to building games the right way – with integrity, creativity, and respect for the people who make them," she concluded.
The studio is actively seeking additional investment and a publishing partner to bring its debut title to market, hoping that the combination of Hypergryph’s backing, a clear creative vision, and a sustainable business model will set a new standard for independent game development in the UK and beyond.