Actor and musician Troy Baker–known for his work on The Last of Us and Uncharted franchises–has announced that he is exploring the possibility of opening his own game studio. Speaking to Kinda Funny Games, the veteran and prolific gaming actor said he wants to “tell my own stories” and take a stab at making games with his own team.
“I want to build a team. I am excited about building a studio with people that I’ve worked with, that I trust, and going, ‘Here’s my idea. How can you make it better?'” he said, as reported by GamesRadar.
Baker isn’t planning to start a studio tomorrow, or next week. He said he wants to avoid doing something “rushed,” in part because he’s seen other people who have “rushed into opportunities.” Baker said if he starts a studio, he wants to “do it right.”
“And especially if I’m going to create a studio where other people are going to be responsible for my choices, I have to make the right ones,” he added.
Baker would not be the first gaming actor to start a studio. Abubakar Salim–who played Bayek in Assassin’s Creed Origins and Alyn of Hull on House of the Dragon–started a studio called Surgent Studios, which released Tales of Kenzera: Zau in 2024. Salim responded to Baker’s interest in opening his own studio, saying, “Don’t do it.” He said the space is “ruthless” right now.
Baker told Eurogamer that, should he start a studio, it would build on his learnings from his various collaborations over the years with people like BioShock creator Ken Levine, Death Stranding’s Hideo Kojima, Neil Druckmann of Naughty Dog, Todd Howard from Bethesda, and the late Vince Zampella of Call of Duty and Battlefield fame. “These people are paragons of the industry. I’ve worked with these people, and I’ve learned so much from them,” he said.
“And, what I am excited about doing is taking those tenets, taking those principles of wildly successful titles–not just in terms of sales and figures but the stories that have defined the industry–and being able to innovate and replicate and emulate those processes and practices into the stories that I want to tell,” he said.
Baker’s latest role is Jack Pepper, the lead character in the recently released Mouse: P.I. For Hire. He’s also known for playing Booker DeWitt in BioShock Infinite, Joel Miller in The Last of Us, The Joker in Batman: Arkham Origins, Talion in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, Jack Mitchell in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Pagan Min in Far Cry 4, Samuel Drake in Uncharted 4, Loki in Marvel Rivals, and Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Looking ahead, he’s also set to play a role in Naughty Dog’s upcoming new IP, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.
He told Variety that he gets offers all the time for new roles–so many that his agent tells him to say no to some of them. He said he understands people might think he should slow down, but Baker does not want to. “The problem is, there’s a lot of amazing studios out there that are making amazing games that I want to be a part of,” he said.