Two former members of Sony Interactive Entertainment reunited this week, as ex-PlayStation executive Phil Harrison invested in Dream Reality Interactive, founded by Dr. Dave Ranyard.
Ranyard previously lead Sony’s London Studio, the team that worked on the PlayStation VR (PSVR) headset creating tech demos that would eventually be bundled into PlayStation VR Worlds for launch last year. Ranyard left Sony before the headset’s launch, however, to start up this new London-based studio along with Richard Bates, who worked with him at Sony London, and former Criterion VP Kumar Jacob. The new studio is working on multiple VR projects, and it’s just completed its first round of funding to help develop them.
Harrison invested an undisclosed amount in the developer. He told GamesIndustry.biz: “I invested in dRi because the team is fantastic and the AR/VR sector is one of the most exciting frontiers in technology today.”
The former Sony exec has a long history in the games industry, having previously worked with Microsoft and companies like Atari too. Another unrevealed investor also funded the company.
Ranyard himself has long been a VR evangelist, giving multiple talks on the technology during PSVR’s development. The new studio is also looking to work in augmented and mixed realities. “Having backing from two successful and insightful investors enables us to accelerate our ambitions and is a huge validation of the talented team we have put together,” he said of the investment.
Dream Reality’s first project is VR production for Sky starring Sir David Attenborough that’s set to be on display in the Natural History Museum. Other projects have not yet been revealed but hopefully we’ll be seeing them soon.
