The man behind the mobile ports of Sonic 1, 2, and CD, as well as lead developer of Sonic Mania, Christian Whitehead, has founded his own game studio called Evening Star. Joining him are some staff he has recently worked with: Tom Fry, art director for Sonic Mania, CEO Dave Padilla, Hunter Bridges, programmer for Sonic Mania, and Brad Flick, level designer for Sonic Mania. His Retro Engine has been renamed the Star Engine, and will be what the studio uses to develop games in the future. Currently, the company is hiring artists and level designers.

Source

Evening Star is a boutique game studio founded in late 2018. Headquartered in Los Angeles, with operations in Melbourne and London, Evening Star's mission is designing fresh, fun games which will stand the test of time.

For Evening Star, being a “boutique” game studio has a specific meaning. Every member pursues a goal to make their own great games. By encouraging strong technical foundations in every discipline, members are given a voice and latitude to impact games in unique ways. By reinvigorating gaming history's more cunning techniques, the team boldly explores directions long since left behind. With that driving approach, and a proprietary engine and tool set, Evening Star has developed an innovative workflow which minimizes the barriers between ideas and execution.

Creating games that shine bright... Evening Star casts a light into the future.

 

[RedoLane]

Man, I knew he made the right decision :'D

 

[MikaDubbz]

Please put this studio indefinitely in control of all future 2D Sonic titles. Hoping we get word on a Sonic Mania 2 sometime relatively soon.

 

[KyleHyde]

I wonder what the studio's first project will be.
Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be as great as their work on Sonic Mania was.

 

[shadow1w2]

Whatever they make, I really hope it doesn't turn out super generic like.
Though it'll be good for sure.
Hopefully Sega will be the first to publish their works.