Motiga

Motiga, Inc. was an independent game development studio established in August 2010 by co-founders Chris Chung and Rick Lambright. Chung, who served as CEO, brought extensive experience from executive roles at Trion Worlds and NCsoft, where he was involved with the successful Guild Wars franchise. Lambright's background included roles as chief architect at Gazillion Entertainment. The studio was founded with the objective of creating engaging online games, initially focusing on mobile multiplayer technology before pivoting to PC gaming.

The company's sole product was "Gigantic," a free-to-play, third-person shooter that blended MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) elements. The game featured 5v5 team-based combat where players, controlling diverse heroes, fought alongside a massive AI guardian with the ultimate goal of destroying the opposing team's guardian. Development on "Gigantic" began in 2012, with the team later bolstered by industry veteran James Phinney, known for his lead design work on "StarCraft" and "Guild Wars". The business model was centered on a free-to-play structure, aiming to generate revenue through in-game purchases.

Motiga's journey was marked by significant financial and publishing challenges. After an initial publishing deal with Microsoft for a Windows 10 and Xbox One exclusive fell through, the studio faced considerable financial distress, including multiple rounds of layoffs. In a notable display of dedication, after a mass layoff in early 2016 where the company ran out of funds, the entire team returned to work voluntarily. Perfect World Entertainment subsequently acquired the studio in May 2016, providing the necessary capital to continue development and expand the game's release to other platforms. "Gigantic" officially launched in July 2017. However, the game failed to achieve sufficient revenue to meet the profitability goals of its parent company. As a result, Perfect World shut down Motiga in November 2017, just four months after the game's launch. The game's servers were ultimately deactivated on July 31, 2018.

Years later, the intellectual property saw a revival. After a temporary throwback event in late 2023, Gearbox Publishing (which had acquired Perfect World) and developer Abstraction Games announced "Gigantic: Rampage Edition." This new version, released in April 2024, shifted from a free-to-play model to a one-time purchase, removing all microtransactions and including new content. Members of the original Motiga team were consulted during its development to ensure it remained true to the original vision. Keywords: Motiga, Gigantic, Chris Chung, Perfect World Entertainment, hero shooter, MOBA, game studio shutdown, free-to-play, Gigantic: Rampage Edition, Abstraction Games, Gearbox Publishing, James Phinney, Rick Lambright, online multiplayer, PC gaming, Xbox One, team-based combat, video game revival, game development history, Bellevue game developer