On 15 June 2011, Avalanche announced that the company would establish a new division in New York City. The studio was officially opened on 17 November 2011, and the first title set to be developed by the New York division was revealed. Codenamed "Project Mamba", the title was a AAA video game set to be released for "next-gen" consoles and PC in 2014. The new studio is located in SoHo, Manhattan, and is led by David Grijns, who was a former employee of Activision and Atari, SA. According to Grijns, Avalanche Studios chose New York City as their location due to less competition. They also aimed to change the "inhospitable" environment of the game industry there.