Abubakar Salim, the BAFTA-award nominated actor and producer has announced today that he has launched a new UK-based games studio, Silver Rain Games. Salim is known for his voice acting work in games such as World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth and The Bradwell Conspiracy – as well as voicing Bayek of Siwa, the protagonist of Assassin’s Creed: Origins
Salim intends to create and direct a new game IP with Silver Rain’s head of studio, the former BAFTA games programme manager Melissa Phillips. Alongside Phillips, Silver Rain is currently a team of five people, who are working remotely.
Regarding the new studio, Salim stated: “The games industry is so inspiring. I grew up in games, so it only feels natural to make the leap into creating them. I want to be able to give back to an industry and audience that has supported me and hopefully bring a fresh perspective to the table.”
In an interview with Gamesindustry.biz, Salim revealed that the new studio’s focus is on storytelling, drawing on inspiration from games such Assassin’s Creed, with the actor telling GI that he is keen to “tell stories that will empower players.” Salim stated that the move to development was a natural choice, one that has been informed by his time working with Ubisoft as Assassin’s Creed: Origins.
“I’ve played [Assassin’s Creed] from the beginning, so to then talk to the programmers, designers, writers, artists, even the testers, and getting to test it myself and to understand what it takes to make a game… it made me realise that there’s a lot of different factors involved,” he said. “You need to build a team, you need a lot of people who are specialised in a specific area, but also who feel the passion to make a game.”
Happy to finally announce my new game studio, Silver Rain Games!@silverraingames has been my life & soul these past few months. Designing & building the universes I’m excited to share with you all. With @lilmissphillips, we’re gonna create games that truly shake things up! pic.twitter.com/1oEe95Pi4t
— Abubakar Salim (@Abzybabzy) March 27, 2020
In a press release, Phillips states, “It’s hugely exciting to begin working on a new IP. We are currently in the prototype stage. We are keen to hear from all levels of talent who might potentially fit into our team and will be looking for funding opportunities over the next few months.”
