Sony : 'Huntsman' tie-in a hit for Tucson game studio 4-Traders

June 05--Tucson-based video game development studio Desert Owl Games continues to grow, with the launch of a "Huntsman" movie tie-in game, the 10-year anniversary of its biggest title and upcoming work with Sony. The studio, which was born after Sony Online Entertainment closed its Tucson operations in 2011, traces its roots back to Octopi, the game developer Sony bought in 2009 and turned into SOE Tucson. Desert Owl Games has 15 people on staff, with another 15 to 20 artists employed on a contract basis, and actively develops what was Octopi's flagship game, "PoxNora," which passed from Sony control over to Desert Owl in 2014 and turns 10 this year. Arthur Griffith, one of the game's creators and co-founder of Desert Owl, said a lot has changed in the gaming industry in that time period. When "PoxNora" launched, gaming magazines wouldn't advertise it, he said, because it wasn't available in stores.