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 ambition is to build a studio that operates sustainably, treats its staff fairly, and directly ties employee rewards to the success of the games they create.
Shefta brings a wealth of leadership experience, having previously acted as CEO and studio head of No Brakes Games Tenerife, where she oversaw the development of Human: Fall Flat. Her industry involvement extends beyond studio work; she was recently appointed to the Board of Directors at TIGA and holds a seat on the BAFTA Games Committee, where she helps shape policy for the broader UK games sector.
Dudley, on the other hand, was one of the original team members on Human: Fall Flat and has a résumé that includes stints at Sony Interactive Entertainment, Lionhead Studios, Rare, and Marmalade Game Studio. His background spans both large‑scale console projects and smaller, innovative indie titles, giving him a broad perspective on game creation and publishing. 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 despite a challenging investment climate, there remains a strong appetite for fresh, original games. She added that the partnership with Hypergryph felt natural from the first conversation because the Chinese studio loved Pretty Cool Games’ concept, supported their long‑term vision, and embraced the team’s whimsical ideas. "They are developers themselves who are now supporting other developers, which made them stand out to us.
We wanted a partner who shared our enthusiasm for ambitious, creative projects," she said. The bulk of the funding is earmarked for the studio’s debut title, a game that draws inspiration from a variety of sources: the playful spirit of Nintendo, the narrative‑driven co‑op design championed by Hazelight (the studio behind *It Takes Two*), the immersive storytelling techniques found in Disney theme parks, and the physical comedy of classic films such as *The Pink Panther*.
Shefta emphasized that the goal is to craft an experience that remains memorable and delightful for years after players first encounter it. "We are leaning into creativity as a pillar of our studio, and that applies to our players as well," Shefta noted. "We want a game that lets players be inventive and express themselves through play.
The freedom inherent in a physics‑based game, combined with our level‑design systems, should produce wild, unexpected scenarios that encourage experimentation." The investment also allows Pretty Cool Games to assemble a small, focused team that Shefta hopes to keep sustainable over the long term. Currently, the studio employs four full‑time staff members and plans to grow to ten. Immediate hiring needs include a lead designer, a level designer, an environment artist, and a concept artist.
Future hires will cover quality assurance, contract roles for character art, audio, user‑interface design, and a composer. Shefta stressed that maintaining a compact core team enables the studio to be ambitious yet realistic about scope, while also ensuring that each employee has a meaningful impact on the final product. A key part of the studio’s philosophy is fairness and shared success. In an industry where recent mass layoffs have left many talented developers without jobs despite the commercial success of the games they helped create, Pretty Cool Games intends to reward its team through mechanisms such as share schemes.
"If our games succeed, we all benefit together," Shefta explained, highlighting the desire to move away from the traditional model where a few executives reap the bulk of the profits. Shefta describes the studio’s overarching aim as blending the best practices of AAA development—rigorous quality standards, polished production values, and deep understanding of what makes an intellectual property thrive—with the agility and experimental spirit of a smaller indie team. "Working in AAA taught me to be disciplined about quality and to consider what makes an IP successful," she recalled.
"Those projects often have huge budgets, which can lead to wasteful decisions and make recouping costs extremely challenging. Indie development, by contrast, can move faster, iterate quickly, and focus on what feels good.
By honing in on one or two core ideas, you can create something truly special." Being part of a lean team also means that every member’s voice carries weight in shaping the game, a dynamic Shefta finds creatively fulfilling. "When everyone can influence the direction of the project, the work feels more meaningful," she said. Ultimately, the studio’s mission is to prioritize both player experience and employee wellbeing.
Shefta acknowledges that launching a new studio inevitably brings challenges, but she believes the extensive experience she and Dudley have accumulated over the years will guide them through obstacles. "We remain committed to building games the right way, with a focus on quality, creativity, and fairness," she concluded. In summary, Pretty Cool Games is a newly formed UK studio founded by seasoned developers from Human: Fall Flat, backed by Hypergryph’s investment.
Their first project aims to fuse the whimsical, physics‑driven fun of classic slapstick comedy with modern, immersive design principles, all while fostering a sustainable, employee‑centric workplace. The studio is actively seeking additional funding and a publishing partner to bring its ambitious debut title to market, and it plans to expand its team thoughtfully to maintain a balance between creative ambition and practical execution.