PowerWash Simulator creator retires to focus on music

FuturLab hit it big back in 2022 thanks to the overwhelming success of PowerWash Simulator. Despite this, the studio has been in operation for more than 20 years. Two decades after he founded the studio, FuturLab CEO James Marsden has now announced that he is retiring to focus on music.

Releasing a statement to their blog, the team at FuturLab said “After 20 years, FuturLab’s founder, James Marsden, has decided to retire from his role to focus on his passion for music. Kirsty Rigden will be taking the reigns as CEO, after formally sharing the role of Co-CEO with James.”

Alongside the announcement, Marsden released his own statement explaining exactly why he has chosen to retire, saying: “Over the last 20 years I’ve lived the bonafide indie game experience. From humble beginnings with its first employee working from my graduate flat-share bedroom, through countless near breaking point moments along the way, FuturLab managed to stay in business long enough to get lucky. The studio has now grown to over 100 professional game developers with multiple projects underway and a commercial hit that reaches many new players every day.”

He continued, “I’m privileged and grateful to have taken this journey, but the time has come for me to attend to a passion that I’ve necessarily had to sacrifice during this time. The truth is that I founded FuturLab with the specific goal of making music for games, and whilst FuturLab could now be fairly described as a leading UK independent game studio – an accomplishment I’m incredibly proud of sharing with Kirsty and the team – it’s not my true passion.”

You will be able to hear Marsden’s work in FuturLab’s upcoming project ‘IKARO Will Not Die’, which was first announced late last month.

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KitGuru says: What do you think of FuturLab? Is the studio heading in the right direction? Are you looking forward to IKARO Will Not Die? Let us know down below.

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