James Lynch 
So J.J. Abrams thinks he can leave the glitzy world of movies to come and make video games for a bit, does he? Admittedly, if his previous work in other fields is to act as a reference point then he definitely can. His production company Bad Robot, of which he is founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer, has joined forces with video game juggernaut Tencent to start a new gaming development company. Further funded by Warner Bros. the new division is, rather unimaginatively, called Bad Robot Games and promises to “team up with traditional game developers to create both large and indie-scale projects for mobile, PC, and console — leveraging its world-building and storytelling expertise, in-house creative directors and network of visual artists, musicians, sound designers, writers and other world-class talents”.
The news that the largest video game company in the world, and one of the biggest in China overall, is certainly cause for optimism. Tencent, which currently has a market value of $580 billion dollars and a net income in excess of $3.3 billion, have thrown their considerable weight behind the project and if past form is anything to go by, games coming from this direction may well be ones to watch out for. Whilst most of Tencent’s income is generated via their Chinese social networks, they have grown to literally become the largest company in the industry, ominously standing behind a litany of titles like the murderer in every cheap horror movie in history.
There is no word yet on whether the minor share Warner Bros has in the venture will be enough to change where it makes its future realeases but for now the future is bright. Gone are the days when video games were looked down upon as inferior to film and television. Much as huge Hollywood figures have made the jump to the small screen in recent years (looking at you Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey), it looks as though Abrams could be one of the first to trecognise the limitless potential of the medium. Trendsetter or what…
