Halo and Destiny creator Jason Jones and New York Times bestselling author Margaret Stohl have launched Stone Kite, a new worldbuilding studio based in Los Angeles.
According to a release, the studio went live on October 1st, with Stohl serving as CEO and Co-founder of Stone Kite and Jones as Co-founder. Jones previously co-founded Bungie, the game developer behind the Halo and Destiny series. Stohl is a novelist who has also written for Marvel Comics and worked in the games industry.
Stone Kite creates original fictional worlds and plans to develop each one across books, comics, games, film and television at the same time. On its website, the studio said the term 'transmedia' is often used for what are really adaptations of a single story, and that its own approach is different. Its first universe, One Zero One, grew out of an original manuscript by Jones and debuted on launch day as a comic series.
What is One Zero One?
One Zero One is set in the near future and follows a worldwide conflict between humanity and a rogue army of robot soldiers driven by AI. The first issue, One Zero One #1, opens a four-part limited comic series and runs to 80 pages, according to Stone Kite's website. It is adapted from Jones' novel An Oral History of Humanity's Final Invention and includes excerpts from the manuscript that have not been seen before.
The series is written by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Eric Heisserer, whose credits include Arrival, Bird Box and Shadow and Bone. Its artists include Dan Panosian (Batman), Ramón Pérez (Hawkeye), Alitha Martinez (Wonder Woman), Raúl Allén (Dune: The Graphic Novel) and Hyeonjin Kim (Power Rangers). Comic book writer and screenwriter Christina Strain and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse character designer Kris Anka have also contributed to the universe.
Issue #1 can be read for free at ozo.stonekite.com, and print copies are available to pre-order at store.stonekite.com. New issues will be released online at no cost through early 2027, with more media projects set to expand the universe over the course of the year. The print edition of the first issue carries covers by Björn Barends, Paolo Rivera, Tula Lotay and Peach Momoko, and Momoko has also drawn a fourth variant cover that will be sold as a retailer exclusive. Adi Granov, InHyuk Lee and Esad Ribić are among the artists lined up for future covers.
Why Stone Kite was founded
According to the release, Stone Kite was founded on the idea that audiences no longer follow stories through one main medium, and that the way stories are made should change to match. Stohl said her years working across books, games, comics, film and television showed her that the medium telling a story first often ends up shaping everything that follows.
"Stone Kite is about breaking down those old media silos," Stohl said. "Instead of starting in one medium and adapting outward, we bring the best global creators from different disciplines into the room from day one to shape the world together." The aim, she added, is to create "worlds that people can explore for decades, in whatever ways they want."
According to the release, Jones' franchises have generated an estimated $15bn in lifetime value and reached more than 250m players, viewers and readers worldwide. Jones said: "I've spent my whole life making games, but I've always wanted to write."
He also spoke about the part Stohl played in turning his manuscript into the studio's first project. "Margie was the first person to believe I could write a book of my own, the first person to read it, and the one person I trusted to help me develop it into epic entertainment that leaves the world a better place," Jones said.
One Zero One centres on a war against machines run by AI, and Stone Kite has also addressed the technology's place in its own creative process. Its website says the creative heart of the studio's work 'stays human', and that the team does not 'farm out' its imagination.
The team behind Stone Kite
Stone Kite's founding team includes Stephen Wacker, the current Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics, who previously held the role of SVP, Media at the studio. It also includes former 7 Studios CEO and Activision Blizzard executive Lewis Peterson, film and television writer and producer Matt Johnson, and Jeanine Schaefer, who has worked at both Marvel Comics and DC Comics.
The studio said it is working with more than 250 creators from film, television, comics and literature on its upcoming projects. Those named in the release include Austin Powers and Meet the Parents director Jay Roach, Stranger Things illustrator Kyle Lambert and M3GAN screenwriter Akela Cooper. Author Stephen Graham Jones and comic book writer and artist Christian Ward are also involved.
Stone Kite's investors include investment firm Griffin Gaming Partners, along with the studio's co-founders and a number of angel investors. Its website also lists several advisors, among them Jen Oneal, Co-founder and CEO of Magic Soup Games and a former co-leader of Blizzard Entertainment. Coddy Johnson, a Partner at Goodwater Capital and the former President and Chief Operating Officer of Activision Blizzard, is also an advisor.
