Wizard101 Fulfills Long Time Desire with Upcoming Wallaru Update | Interview
“We’ve wanted to do Wallaru for a long time,” I was told as we relaxed in a secluded conference room with Sam Johnson, the Narrative Director of KingsIsle Entertainment. Just over a week ago, we were invited to the KingsIsle office in preparation for their test realm launch ofWizard101’s huge Wallaru Update. During our visit, we spent time with the passionate team of developers as they talked about Wallaru, their ambitious 15-year story, and expanding to new frontiers.
As we entered the office with Matthew Anderson, KingIsle’s Lead Community Manager, we were led through rows of cubicles and offices adorned with various Wizard101 plushies and video game paraphernalia. “Everyone’s excited because today is Cheese Day.” Matthew warned us. Cheese Day refers to a monthly celebration of cheese where all of the developers get together and vote on their favorite cheeses. KingsIsle’s development team are allotted a few days a week to work remotely, but it was fortuitous that we planned our visit on Cheese Day as we were told that the staff wouldn’t want to miss free cheese, and we had open access to a lot of the most integral developers.
The camaraderie of the KingsIsle team and their internal Gamigo partners painted a picture of an expanding team that’s excited to start growing again. “We’ve grown 25% more since we were acquired.” Leah Ruben, Chief Operating Officer of KingsIsle began. She pinpointed the areas where the Gamigo acquisition has helped the team grow, with a prime example being the soft-launch of a new single-player mobile game Pirate101: Plunder Hunt. The creation of the mobile game, resurgence of Pirate101 content, and even Wallaru itself has been due in a large part to Gamigo and their support.
As we sat around a
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