LogInIt is claimed that the tech giant has hired two of the Playdeo co-founders who are now reportedly working on the company's mixed-reality projects.
Apple has reportedly hired Jack Schulze and Timo Arnall, the co-founders of Playdeo, the developer behind an iOS game Avo. That's according to Mobilegamer.biz, which cites several sources familiar with the matter. The third Playdeo co-founder, Nick Ludlam, has seemingly not joined the tech giant.
The move to recruit two out of three studio co-founders essentially closed the company. However, according to Companies House filings, Playdeo remains an active company, although it doesn't employ any staff. In addition, the filings state that Schulze, Arnall, and Ludlam resigned as Playdeo directors in March 2022.
As Mobilegamer.biz reports, Schulze and Arnall are now most likely working on Apple's mixed reality projects. In addition, the report says that Apple had previously already hired a Playdeo developer, Avo’s design lead Jonathan Topf, who now works in Apple's design and prototyping team.
It's been rumored for years, that Apple is planning to enter the VR/AR space at some point which is why it might need people with experience in mixed-reality software development such as Schulze and Arnall.
Playdeo indeed specialized in mixed-reality production – according to the developers, they created their games using their own camera software built on Apple’s ARKit which allowed them "record and experiment with game mechanics mapped into recorded video, as well as making remote production and instant editing possible."
You can learn more by reading Mobilegamer.biz's report here. Also, don't forget to join our Reddit page and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.