Senior media executive Sharon Tal Yguado has launched Astrid Entertainment. The new venture will initially focus on games, with plans to expand into multiplatform content. Yguado, who earlier held top positions at Fox Networks Group and Amazon Studios, says Astrid is developing “rich worlds” where millions of people worldwide can build communities. The company, which is currently staffing, is already underway on its first interactive environment for multiplayer stories. Astrid has raised pre-seed investment funding of more than seven figures from participants including NetEase Games, Stardom and Tower 26.

“Yguado is a developer of media such as ‘The Wheel of Time’ streaming show on Amazon’s Prime Video, and she worked with Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy to get Amazon to make ‘The Peripheral,’ a new sci-fi show based on a novel by William Gibson,” VentureBeat writes.

“We are seeing a new generation that wants something different. They enjoy walking into evocative worlds that give them freedom, let them hang out with their friends, explore, discover and create their own stories,” Yguado said in a statement to VentureBeat that indicates she will soon announce creative collaborators with experience in both AAA and indie game development.

Polygon reports that “Astrid Entertainment’s first game is not an MMO, but it is a world where players — playing together — will define their own experience.” While it isn’t being styled a “metaverse,” Polygon writes that “Yguado does recognize that people are spending more time in online worlds; they’ve become social hubs. Players will experience the world with a small group of others, but with the chance to meet other players from other worlds.”

The inaugural game world “won’t have a linear story, like Yguado is most familiar with from TV,” reports Polygon, noting that the exec’s credits include Prime Video’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” “The Boys,” and was also involved in developing “The Walking Dead” and “Invincible.”

“All of a sudden [TV] felt a little safe, repetitive. I felt the desire to do something innovative. I wanted to step out and push boundaries with a smaller team and more creativity,” Yguado told Polygon, detailing Astrid’s plans to grow “organically.”

“We are putting our heads down and building the world and experience before developing and expanding into other mediums, but the plan is to be everywhere over time — multiplatform, across various mediums,” Yguado said to Polygon.