Pretty Cool Games is a freshly launched, fully remote development house based in the United Kingdom, founded by two veterans of the hit puzzle‑platformer Human: Fall Flat – Sitara Shefta, who now serves as chief executive officer, and Will Dudley, the chief creative officer. Their shared ambition is to construct a studio that not only delivers engaging experiences but also treats its staff fairly and shares the financial rewards of success with them. Shefta brings a wealth of leadership experience to the venture. Prior to this, she was the CEO and studio head of No Brakes Games Tenerife, where she oversaw the creation of Human: Fall Flat.
Her industry involvement extends beyond development; she has recently been appointed to the board of directors at 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 includes stints at several high‑profile publishers and developers, including Sony Interactive Entertainment, Lionhead Studios, Rare, and Marmalade Game Studio. This blend of creative and production expertise forms the backbone of Pretty Cool Games’ vision.
To get the new studio off the ground, Pretty Cool Games secured an undisclosed investment from Hypergryph, the Chinese developer best known for the tactical RPG Arknights: Endfield. Shefta explained to GamesIndustry.biz that, despite a challenging fundraising environment, the appetite for fresh, innovative titles remains strong.
"From our very first conversation with Hypergryph we clicked. They loved our concept, embraced our long‑term studio plan and were enthusiastic about our off‑the‑wall ideas.
The fact that they are developers themselves, now supporting other studios, made them a perfect partner for us," she said. The bulk of the capital is earmarked for the studio’s debut title, a game that draws creative fuel from a diverse set of influences. Nintendo’s playful design philosophy, Hazelight’s narrative‑driven co‑op experiences (the makers of *It Takes Two*), the immersive storytelling found in Disney theme parks, and the physical comedy of classic films like *The Pink Panther* all inform the project’s direction.
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." A central pillar of Pretty Cool Games’ ethos is creativity – not just for the developers, but for the players as well. The upcoming title will be a physics‑based sandbox that encourages experimentation. By giving players a high degree of freedom within robust level‑design systems, the team hopes to generate countless unexpected, humorous moments that echo the slap‑stick charm of the studio’s cinematic inspirations.
The Hypergryph investment also allows the studio to expand its core team in a sustainable way. Currently, four full‑time staff members are working on the project, with plans to grow to ten. Immediate hires include a lead designer, a level designer, an environment artist, and a concept artist.
Additional contract roles are slated for quality assurance, character art, audio design, user‑interface work, and a composer. Shefta emphasized that the studio will remain deliberately small, balancing ambition with realistic scope to avoid the over‑extension that plagues many larger studios. Fairness to employees is another cornerstone of the company’s philosophy. In an industry where layoffs have become commonplace even after successful releases, Pretty Cool Games intends to reward its team through mechanisms such as share schemes, ensuring that when a game performs well, the entire crew benefits.
"We’re building a studio that puts player experience and employee wellbeing first," Shefta said. "We want a model where success is shared, not hoarded." Shefta also described the studio’s strategic positioning: "We aim to take the best practices of AAA development – rigorous quality standards, polished production pipelines – and combine them with the agility and experimental spirit of a small indie team.
AAA projects often have massive budgets that can lead to wasteful decisions and make recouping costs difficult. By staying lean, we can iterate quickly, focus on what feels fun, and bring unique ideas to market without the financial baggage of a blockbuster." Working in a smaller team, according to Dudley, means every individual has a tangible impact on the final product. "When the team is tight‑knit, each voice matters, and that creative ownership translates into a richer, more personal game," he noted. Looking ahead, Pretty Cool Games is actively seeking additional investment and a publishing partner to support the launch of its first title.
The founders are confident that their combined experience, industry connections, and clear vision will attract the right collaborators. In summary, Pretty Cool Games represents a new kind of development studio: one that blends the polish of big‑budget productions with the nimbleness of indie creation, all while championing a fair, profit‑sharing workplace. As Shefta concluded, "There will always be challenges when you start a new studio, but we’ll rely on the deep experience we’ve built over the years and stay true to our commitment to make games the right way."