Ratchet & Clank developer Insomniac Games has revealed that it is looking to enter the web and mobile social gaming space with its newly formed division Insomniac Click.
The company's chief creative officer Brian Hastings said in a blog post that expanding to social gaming is "a pragmatic necessity" due to the changing gaming landscape.
"Are we jumping on the social gaming bandwagon just because it has an unprecedented daily audience in excess of 100 million people? Is this a sell-out business decision or something we are truly passionate about?" he began.
He followed up, "This is something we’re passionate about. It’s also a pragmatic necessity."
"We want more complex interactions and deeper forms of gameplay." Hastings explained. "But as core games have become increasingly complex the barrier to entry for everyone else has often become higher and higher."
"As a result, the games with the highest production values are simply impossible to play for the vast majority of people in the world."
Hastings promised that Insomniac Click will follow a set of key goals that he called the "Contract With The Audience." These include experiences that are easy to pick up but difficult to master, and that making the games fun will take precedence over social aspects.
Regarding Insomniac Games' future releases, Hastings noted that "All our existing teams are still 100 percent dedicated to making unforgettable AAA console experiences with our proprietary blend of double rainbows and awesomesauce."
Insomniac Games revealed last year that it was going multiplatform with Electronic Arts, after releasing games only for Sony platforms for 16 years.
Kinda depressing somehow. Love Ratchet & Clank, one of my favorite series ever. Which will continue on console as they say, so it's not like I'm losing anything. Just don't like Ratchet being whored out to Facebook I guess ("Buy my new weapon for $5 OR whine at your firends to gift it to you.")
