Words by Dan Lipscombe
Nearly 50% of the workforce at Ascendant Studios has been laid off. This comes after poor sales of their most recent title, Immortals of Aveum, which saw the FPS genre take a magical spin.
Discussing the lay-offs, staff have said that nearly half of positions are gone, which counts for around 40 people. Senior management cited “poor sales” directly. This comes after a quiet reaction to the game in a landscape full of high quality triple-A games.
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Forspoken offered a similar premise and also struggled to make an impact with players.
Founder and CEO Bret Robbins commented, “This was a painfully difficult, but necessary decision that was not made lightly”. Immortals of Aveum was trying something new; utilising the FPS genre to tell a story of magic and sorcery rather than one of guns and grenades.
Upon release, that game scored reasonably well on Metacritic with a rating of 70, but critics and players alike didn’t seem to find enough of a spark to set it apart from the stiff competition it faced.
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Sadly, Immortals of Aveum was the first release from the studio, so there was already a weight on their shoulders. There is always the possibility that it will find a new lease of life on EA Play when it finds its way onto the subscription platform.
For now, we have to hope these talented creators find employment elsewhere and it seems they have support from their CEO as Robbins continued, “We are supporting those affected in every way we can, including comprehensive severance packages and job placement assistance, as well as support services for those who remain.”
2023 has been a stand out year for games, with so many successes across varying genres. It’s hard to stand out, even when your game has an interesting and dynamic hook for players. We can only hope those affected have a chance to shine elsewhere.
Featured Image Credit: EATopics: EA