Ex-Dying Light Lead Tymon Smektala Joins Bloober Team to Find 'Next Kojima'

Ever wonder who the next Hideo Kojima might be? Tymon Smektala is on a mission to find out. After 13 years working on Dying Light at Techland, Smektala has taken on a new role as executive director at Broken Mirror Games, the publishing division of Bloober Team. And he's not shy about his ambition: he wants to spot the freshest talent in horror and help them become the next big thing.

In an interview with GamesRadar+, Smektala explained that he'll feel fulfilled when he finds a creator with a strong vision working on a smaller project. "I can easily imagine that we will find a creator that – a game creator working on a smaller project, but we would see the strength of the vision there, and with our help, this developer would get bigger, would get better, would get access to our DNA as well, because we have lots of expertise in making horror games," he said. "This creator could become the next Kojima, even. Like, why not?"

Those are big words, but Smektala has the track record to back it up. During his 13 years at Techland, he served as franchise director for three years on Dying Light, helping the series become one of the best zombie games of all time thanks to its pioneering day/night cycle that posed new challenges in open-world survival horror. Now, at Broken Mirror Games, he's already overseeing a slate of upcoming horror titles.

For instance, there's Saw: Genesis, which offers a more involved take on asymmetrical multiplayer, and Onyx: The Dark Grip, a Switch 2 exclusive that focuses on "putting fear back into your hands" – literally. Smektala is excited to continue searching for novel approaches to horror. "What we are trying to do is get the next Obsession, the next Backrooms, the next Weapons," he says, referencing some of the biggest horror movies of the year, including one created by a content creator. "A new take on horror, something that adds to the genre and is unique. That's kind of the top-level ambition: to find the next creators of horror gaming that can complete and add to what we are bringing to the table as Broken Mirror."

Bloober Team CEO Piotr Babieno, who joined the interview, added that the best horror goes beyond mere entertainment. "It's not just pure entertainment, and it's not just about uniqueness. It's about something behind it all," he said. "The best horrors are, in some way, answering the questions which are arising in society because we are afraid about something. That's why I believe that there are a lot of content creators who are able to touch [upon] horror from different perspectives, and we would like to be there."

So, what does this mean for you? If you're a fan of horror games, you can expect Broken Mirror to champion fresh voices and unique takes on the genre. With Smektala at the helm, the publisher is on the lookout for the next big thing – and who knows, maybe the next Kojima is out there right now, working on a small project that will soon get the spotlight it deserves.

What do you think? Are you excited to see what Broken Mirror Games has in store? Will you be keeping an eye out for their upcoming horror titles? Let us know in the comments!