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Former Sony London Studio head David Ranyard has formed a new, independent VR studio, Dream Reality Interactive.Based in Farringdon, London, the studio will focus on the development of virtual reality games and experiences.
Ranyard, who has previously worked on titles including Singstar, Wonderbook: Book of Spells and VR Worlds for Sony’s PSVR headset, founded the company with Richard Bates, former technical director of Singstar, and Kumar Jacob, former VP at Criterion. Ranyard has been appointed as the company’s CEO, while Bates and Jacob will take on the respective roles of chief technical officer and chief financial officer.
Several members of Ranyard’s former Sony London team will also be joining them, including Artemis Tsouflidou, Albert Bentail and John Foster, all of whom played key roles in the development of PSVR title, VR Worlds.
Ranyard says Dream Reality is already hard at work on several prototypes and projects for a variety of virtual reality headsets, and will be creating its own IP in addition to developing titles in partnership with other IP owners.
Dream Reality’s website also lists three key pillars for the company, namely creating believable worlds, natural interactions and shared experiences. It also states the company will be working with "talent from within the games industry and beyond, including award-winning graphic designers, musicians and screenwriters."
With the availability of a range of VR headsets the question is no longer if virtual reality will be successful, it is when and most importantly, how?" Ranyard said in a statement.
"None of us really knows the answer but after a fantastic 17 years at Sony, now feels like the right time to explore the possibilities. Going independent allows me to work across all platforms and that’s very liberating.”
