Circle of Confusion specializes in developing elevated "genre" material. The company's client roster includes the top names in "genre" material from science fiction to horror to comics, including the Wachowskis (The Matrix Trilogy), writers Gregg Chabot & Kevin Pererka (Reign of Fire), and comic creator and screenwriter Brian Michael Bendis (Powers, Jinx). The production division has set more than 20 projects on studio development slates in the past three years, including Jinx (Universal), with Charlize Theron attached to star, an adaptation of the Terry Brooks novel Magic Kingdom for Sale (Universal) with Stephen Sommers (Van Helsing, The Mummy)set to direct, and Eddie Dickens and the Awful End (Warner Brothers).
Created by the recent merger of Backbone Entertainment and The Collective, Foundation 9 Entertainment develops games for all platforms and genres. Notable forthcoming titles include Marc Ecko: Getting Up Contents Under Pressure and a game based on Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, both from the Collective, and Backbone's original title, Death, Jr. which is being published by Konami.
"Cementing our relationship with Circle of Confusion enables us to bring our publishing partners access to some of the top creative talent in the industry," said Foundation 9 CEO Jon Goldman, "as well giving us the ability to create original concepts that extend beyond the videogame industry."
"Our relationship with Foundation 9 will give us the ability to offer another service to our clients," said Circle of Confusion founder Lawrence Mattis. "And of course horror, fantasy, and science fiction, as well as other genre IP is extremely important to the videogame industry! Being able to offer the services of our clients to Foundation 9 and its publishing partners is a great opportunity for everyone involved."
"It's a model that worked extremely well with Death, Jr.," added Foundation 9's Emeryville, CA studio head Mike Mika, the creative force behind Death, Jr. "Working with David Alpert at Circle of Confusion enabled us to bring Death, Jr. to a wide variety of outlets, from a comic book with Image Comics to a toy deal with Gentle Giant, and of course a motion picture."
The partnership with Circle of Confusion is the latest strategic move by the newly-formed Foundation 9, which recently announced it had acquired Eugene, OR-based game developer and technology studio Pipeworks Software.