Yingjiao Network Invests in a British Studio Whose Core Team Members Are Veterans of *Human: Fall Flat*

Today, according to a report by the foreign media outlet Gamesindustry.biz, two core members of the legendary indie game *Human: Fall Flat* have co-founded a new studio, Pretty Cool Games, and secured investment from Chinese developer Yingjiao Network; the investment amount was not disclosed.Just last month, the game’s official team announced that *Human: Fall Flat* had surpassed 60 million copies sold worldwide. Yingjiao Network confirmed to Game Teahouse that the investment was initiated by Kaituo Xin, a subsidiary of Yingjiao Network.

Sitara Shefta与Will Dudley

Pretty Cool Games was founded by two *Human: Fall Flat* veterans: Sitara Shefta serves as CEO; she previously led the No Brakes Games Tenerife studio and spearheaded the development of *Human: Fall Flat*, and currently serves on the TIGA board and the BAFTA Games Committee;Will Dudley, who serves as CCO, was a founding member of the *Human: Fall Flat* team and has previously worked at Sony Interactive Entertainment, Lionhead, and Rare.The studio operates entirely remotely and currently has four full-time employees. It plans to expand to 10 employees and is still seeking additional investment and publishing partners.

When asked why they chose Eagle Corner, Shefta said, “From our very first conversation with Eagle Corner, we hit it off right away.They loved the game concept, supported our studio’s vision and long-term plans, and embraced even our most out-of-the-box ideas. The fact that they are game developers themselves—and now support other developers—is something we value greatly; we wanted to partner with someone who shares our enthusiasm for our ambitions.”

Regarding the studio’s first upcoming title, Shefta revealed that its sources of inspiration include Nintendo, Hazelight (the developer of *Shadow of the Colossus*), the immersive experiences at Disney theme parks, and *Pink Panther*-style physical comedy. The core concept is to give players freedom of expression and creative space within gameplay driven by the laws of physics.Based on this description, it could be seen as a continuation of *Human: Fall Flat*’s “physics sandbox + comedy” formula.

It is worth noting that Eagle角’s investment came during a period when major companies were generally scaling back operations. Shefta stated, “It’s very difficult to raise capital right now, but that doesn’t mean demand for new games has decreased,” and emphasized that the studio hopes to build a sustainable model that is “fair to employees and uses equity incentives to share in success”—a direct response to the wave of layoffs sweeping the industry.From a domestic perspective, Yingjiao has entered the market with a “developers supporting developers” mindset rather than as a purely financial investor. This marks yet another sign that Chinese companies’ overseas investments are shifting from distribution channels and publishing toward high-quality, creative teams.