Insomniac Games, a 28.5-million unit selling independent console videogames developer ranked among the top 10 best small companies to work for nationally and locally, announced today it is opening a North Carolina-based development studio.

The new studio, which will be located in the Raleigh-Durham area, marks the first expansion in Insomniac’s 14-year history. The North Carolina studio will also be known as Insomniac Games, and will focus both on developing current and new intellectual properties. While the new studio will operate largely autonomously from Insomniac’s Burbank group, it will receive administrative support along with shared tools and technology.

"As a studio, Insomniac Games is known for developing high-quality blockbuster titles and for nurturing a creative and collaborative culture," said Ted Price, Insomniac’s founder and CEO. "Our goal with the North Carolina studio is to blend our experience and proven track record with the tenacity of a start-up venture. Expanding to Raleigh-Durham also allows us to maintain an ideal size in Burbank while offering an attractive alternative for developers wishing to live on the East Coast."

Chad Dezern, Insomniac’s art director, will serve as the North Carolina studio director while veteran Insomniac gameplay lead Shaun McCabe will assume the role of production director. The two have worked at Insomniac for 10 and five years, respectively. They will continue to help lead production of Resistance 2, Insomniac’s highly anticipated sequel to the PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3) exclusive Resistance: Fall of Man, until it launches this fall.

Insomniac’s Raleigh-Durham studio will be operational by January 2009 and is currently seeking employees for a variety of positions. The studio will likely be comprised of 25-30 developers.