New studio Blue Scarab Entertainment raises $7 million to develop UE5-based MMORPG with “cozy escapism” and true crime

Concept art for Blue Scarab’s upcoming MMORPG

According to the official announcement, Blue Scarab Entertainment raises $7 million from NetEase and Behold Ventures. Other investors include Raw Fury founder Jonas Antonsson, Betware founder Ólafur Andri Ragnarsson, and Creandum founder Stefan Lindeberg.

The studio was founded by CEO Colin Cragg and CTO Enno Rehling. Both of them worked together at Funcom on Anarchy Online in the 2000s, but then pursued separate ventures before joining forces again.

Blue Scarab’s core team consists of:

• Studio director Craig Morrison — former studio creative director at DICE, principal designer at Blizzard, and creative director at Funcom (his portfolio includes games like World of Warcraft, Battlefield, and Anarchy Online);
• Principal game designer Guillaume Lhoyer — former live designer at Arrowhead Game Studios (Helldivers 2), who also worked at Electronic Arts, Wargaming, and Funcom;
• Community and marketing director Ashley Nicollette — former marketing director at Arrowhead.

Other developers include creative director Paul Wollenstein, narrative director Iryna Melnychenko, lead programmer Fredrik Nes Sjödin, senior producer Ylva Mesonero, and lead level designer Michiel Werring.

“With the backing of NetEase Games we’re empowered to bring our vision to life. We’re grateful for their commitment to creative freedom, supporting expertise, and resources as we set off on this adventure,” Cragg said in a statement.

Blue Scarab Entertainment is based in Stockholm, defining itself as a “hybrid and remote workplace.”

The team is now working on an unannounced open world MMORPG based on the original IP. Built with Unreal Engine 5, it will combine a true-crime story with exploration. “We believe there is space for fusing and evolving previous gaming and media experiences into something new and fresh for this expanded community,” Morrison noted.