A new indie studio in Canada founded by ex-BioWare veterans has taken a novel approach in the development of its first game. North Mist Studios, which was established in 2024 during what the studio calls a “fateful encounter at a local ice cream shop,” would rather not wait until design concepts are finalized and vertical slices are done before announcing their new game to the public. They’re doing it now with a narrative podcast.
“Instead of waiting years to release a finished video game we’re sharing the journey of world building with you, the listener, by releasing prequel audio dramas set in the world our games take place in,” the studio wrote in a post on Bluesky.
That podcast is The Concierge, a spy thriller office drama that’s currently in the middle of its second season. The team at North Mist Studios is using their work on The Concierge to flesh out the fledgling world they’re creating for their first game. According to the podcast’s description, The Concierge takes place in the near future “when personal data protection is more valuable than money.”
An indie studio spun up by laid-off developers is a tale as old as the gaming industry, especially now amidst the ceaseless layoffs that only seem to be increasing in size and destructiveness. What excites me about North Mist Studios is that it includes veterans of the BioWare narrative and cinematics team such as Mary Kirby, Sarah Hayward, and Sylvia Feketekuty—the people responsible for creating some of the best video game stories and companions ever committed to PC and console. It’s also really cool that they’ve taken this kind of public-facing approach to game development. Through the podcast and their Patreon, the North Mist team has invited fans to take the journey with them while also securing a little bit of crowdfunding to ensure sustainability as they take the time to bring The Concierge to life.
North Mist says it’s working on the first in-engine trailer for The Concierge and intends to have it out some time this summer. I cannot wait.
