Moving through the gears

We have to admit, we’ve been expecting this. FuturLab, the award winning studio behind Velocity and Coconut Dodge, has signed a “groundbreaking” deal with Sony that will see the Brighton-based outfit focus on PlayStation Vita titles throughout 2013. The arrangement – which sounds a lot like an expansion of Sony’s popular Pub Fund initiative – will find the platform holder financing the studio’s upcoming products, though the team will still retain full control over its intellectual property.

"We're incredibly excited to be working closely with PlayStation over the next year, bringing our particular brand of twitchy fun to the PlayStation Vita,” managing director James Marsden said. “Sony has provided a great package that means we retain full control of our IP, which is a perfect deal for us.”

Sony’s senior business development manager Shahid Ahmad added: “We're particularly pleased to be working with FuturLab to bring new and exciting games to PlayStation Vita. FuturLab has a unique and fun approach to entertainment and we see their games as being a fantastic addition to the ever growing catalogue of PlayStation Vita games.

“FuturLab caught the spotlight earlier this year when their self published PlayStation Minis title Velocity earned critical acclaim, and has since been part of the PlayStation Mobile launch line up with a trio of mobile titles.”

The studio’s latest effort – an electrified twist on the Match 3 puzzle genre, Surge – is due out later this week. Despite that, the developer couldn’t resist teasing its next title in today’s press release. It purposely bolded specific letters from the above quotes in order to spell out the phrase: “Fan powered flight”. What does it mean? We’re stumped – but we know we’d walk over hot coals for a Velocity sequel.