Studio Reset, a new Canadian game studio founded by former Mass Effect, Dragon Age, The Long Dark, and Anthem developers, has announced its establishment. It is currently working on a “neon-noir supernatural mystery game” set in a stylized Canadian cityscape.
“Studio Reset is smaller by design,” said Studio Reset producer and creative director Kaelin Lavallee in a press release. “We are not trying to recreate blockbuster development at a smaller scale. We want to build original worlds with focus, intention, and a team that can stay close to the work, the creative vision, and the players we are making it for.”
Studio Reset design director Kris Schoneberg added, “We’re interested in mysteries that trust the player. A good mystery should make you feel clever, not confused. With Parallax Deduction, we want players to understand that perspective is part of the evidence. Who is looking at the case matters, because each investigator brings their own expertise, history, instincts, and blind spots.”
Studio Reset art director Francis Lacuna said, “We want Studio Reset to be known for games about strange places, hidden stories, and the curious characters compelled to uncover them. Visually, we’re building toward a world that feels beautiful, uneasy, and familiar in the wrong way. The kind of place where the ordinary starts to feel like it is hiding something.”
Here is an overview of the studio:
Founded by Kaelin Lavallee, Kris Schoneberg, and Francis Lacuna, Studio Reset brings together a proven team with a long-standing working relationship and a shared belief in building games with intention and sustainability. After years spent contributing to large-scale narrative worlds, the founders are choosing a smaller, more intentional model: original [intellectual property], sustainable ambition, and experiences shaped around the players they are made for.
Studio Reset’s first project channels the satisfaction of classic adventure mysteries while modernizing the form through bold 3D visuals, multiple investigators, intuitive clue-solving, mature themes, and meaningful replayability. The game is designed for players who want a mystery that feels strange, atmospheric, and deeply thought-out, without forcing them through arbitrary puzzle logic.
The studio is also taking a “no moon logic” approach to clue and puzzle design. In adventure games, “moon logic” is what happens when a puzzle solution feels arbitrary, forcing the player to guess the designer’s personal logic rather than following clues. Studio Reset wants the opposite: if a player uncovers a hidden motive, opens a locked path, or connects two strange details, the solution should feel like something they could have reasoned toward through observation, context, and deduction.
Studio Reset’s debut project is currently in its early stages with support from the Canada Media Fund. Today’s announcement marks the beginning of a longer development journey.
The team is opening the door early to players, industry peers, and potential partners drawn to mystery, atmosphere, and story-rich games built around discovery.
