Rise of the Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics is hard at work on its upcoming Avengers game, and now the studio has expanded its ranks. The Square-Enix-owned Crystal Dynamics has a new studio in the Pacific Northwest. Appropriately titled Crystal Northwest, this new team is located in Bellevue, Washington,and will act as a satellite studio for Crystal Dynamics in Redwood Shores.
Crystal Northwest is described as a “full-fledged extension of Crystal Dynamics” and is dedicated initially to technology development. According to Crystal Dynamics, the new studio is already hard at work lending a hand on The Avengers Project. Sadly, this means the new studio probably won’t be working on a Gex reboot anytime soon. Crystal Northwest is led by Chad Queen and James Loe, who have been in the industry for 20 years. In case you missed it, here is a trailer for The Avengers Project.

Crystal Northwest is not the only Crystal Dynamics expansion. The developer’s main studio in Redwood Shores has added dozens of new members to its team. Among them is new Combat Lead Designer Vincent Napoli, who comes off of the PlayStation 4’s God of War. Dead Space 3′s Creative Designer Ben Wanat also joined the team, along with David Fifield, who was 343 Studios’ Halo Executive Producer and Design Director and a Raven Software Call of Duty Game Director. Additional hires include people from EA, Naughty Dog, and Pixar.
Co-Head of Studio at Cr...