Bethesda Softworks announced today the opening of Battlecry Studios, headed by ex-BioWare staffer Rich Vogel. Vogel was a huge part of the development of Star Wars: The Old Republic in his role as executive producer, but left the company ahead of a large round of layoffs from the MMO development team. His previous works include Star Wars: Galaxies and Ultima Online, but no project has yet been announced for Battlecry.

Vogel made a quick statement about his joining the Bethesda team, but doesn't drop any hints at what he's working on: 

"I have always admired and respected Bethesda’s approach to making great, original games. It’s a belief and passion I share, and I’m looking forward to building a team of high quality developers who want to bring that same commitment and creative energy to the games we’ll be creating."

It's safe to assume from Vogel's comments that he won't be working on any of Bethesda's or ZeniMax's other games, at least directly, instead focusing on his own "new" project. Perhaps it's also worth nothing that the studio is based in Austin, which is also the home city of another of Bethesda's studios, Arkane, just a week away from releasing Dishonored.

A quick lookover on ZeniMax's Battlecry Studios job openings webpage reveals some requests for employees experienced in developing for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Other interesting requirements include a search for someone with experience in both FPS and RPG style games, as well as "Online Design Experience."

While the expectation for Vogel would be the development of an MMO, considering his recent experience, perhaps something smaller -- an online multiplayer focused game  -- would be better. If ZeniMax/Bethesda wanted Vogel on an MMO he'd probably be working on Elder Scrolls Online. Hopefully we'll hear more soon.