The Story of Powder Park
From the creator of Ski Resort Tycoon: a father, a son, and one more run down the mountain.
Three Mountains Behind Us
Long before Powder Park, Patrick Wilkinson co-founded Cat Daddy Games and ran it as co-studio head from 1996 to 2025. There he built ski resort games not once, not twice, but three times: Ski Resort Tycoon (2000) and Ski Resort Tycoon II (2001) for Activision Value, then Ski Resort Extreme (2004) for Take-Two Interactive, with much of the code written by Patrick himself. Cat Daddy also took the idea to the terrain park with Snowboard Park Tycoon (2002) for Activision Value. Every one of those games taught him something new about what makes a mountain feel alive: the hum of a packed lift line, the thrill of opening a fresh trail, the beautiful chaos of a lodge on a powder day.
Cat Daddy went on to make Carnival Games and WWE SuperCard. But Patrick always had a feeling there was one more great ski resort game left to build.
Two Paths Meet at the Top
In 2025, Patrick retired. At almost the same moment, his son Maverick graduated with a degree in game development and walked straight into one of the toughest hiring markets the industry has ever seen. Studios were cutting, not hiring. Talented grads everywhere were waiting for a door to open.
So they asked a simple question: why wait for someone else to open the door? They started The Cat's Eye Studio in Woodinville, Washington, its name a nod to Patrick's years as a "Cat Daddy." What began as a father-and-son project is now a team of 12, new graduates working alongside laid-off industry veterans.
One More Run
Powder Park is the game Patrick has made three times before, rebuilt from the ground up with decades of hard-won lessons and a new generation's eyes on what a modern resort sim can be. It's a ski town builder where it's always winter. Shape the mountain, lay out the runs, lifts and the town at the base, then drop in and ski or snowboard every run you built, solo or with friends.
This time there was a new voice in the design. Maverick steered the game away from traditional tycoon mechanics and toward what he loves about the mountain: snowboarding, and getting out on the slopes you built. So Powder Park doubles down on riding and on interacting with your creation, not on spreadsheets.
Veteran design instincts meet fresh ambition. Every trail, lift and lodge is shaped by people who love this genre and set out to make the version they always wanted to play.
The Fourth Time's the Charm
Three resorts behind us. One more mountain ahead. Powder Park launches on Steam on November 10, 2026, at 10 am PST, and the free demo is out now. Strap in, grab a lift ticket, and welcome to Powder Park.
Ski Resort Tycoon, Ski Resort Tycoon II and Snowboard Park Tycoon were published by Activision, and Ski Resort Extreme by Take-Two Interactive. Powder Park is an original game from The Cat's Eye Studio and is not affiliated with either publisher.