Summary
- Former members of Volition have formed a new development company called Shapeshifter Games, offering co-development services for AAA games.
- Shapeshifter Games has brought in several veterans from Volition, including studio heads and designers, to work on co-developing a project with Xbox Games Studios.
- Embracer continues to restructure, laying off employees and closing studios, with the latest involving Black Forest Games.
Former members of Volition, a studio known for franchises like Saints Row and Red Faction, have banded together to start a new development company called Shapeshifter Games. Embracer Group, formerly known as THQ Nordic and the Nordic Games Licensing prior to that, has continued to scoop up assets over the past 10 years or so, including assets from THQ, Crystal Dynamics, and tons of different IPs. Unfortunately, recent times have not been quite as kind, as a reported failed deal between Embracer and Savvy Gaming Group, forced the company to announce a large scale restructuring plan involving studio closures and staff reductions.
As staff were laid off and projects canceled, one of the studios to shut down was Volition, which was one of the original THQ assets Deep Silver acquired before being purchased by Embracer in 2018. The studio had become well known for the Saints Row series, though the studio's final two launches of Agents of Mayhem and the franchise reboot Saints Row, found a dedicated smaller audience but largely failed to resonate with consumers. As such, Embracer announced that Voltion would be shut down on August 31, 2023, prompting the studio to post one final heartfelt message to fans. However, our of the ashes of Volition has seen the rise of a new studio with a number of veterans from the Champaign, Illinois company.
The announcement comes from a post on LinkedIn by Matt Madigan, the studio head at Shapeshifter Games. Madigan reveals that Shapeshifter Games is a co-development partner for AAA games, meaning they're going to assist other developers/publishers with their projects. Located in Champaign, the studio also appears to have work as the profile of lighting artist AJ Nelson, who arrived from Immortals of Aveum developer Ascendant Studios, seemingly confirmed that Shapeshifter is currently co-developing a project with Xbox Games Strudios. Unfortunately, no additional details were provided.
Former Volition Developers at Shapeshifter
In addition to Madigan, who previously served in various financial roles with Volition, THQ, and Koch Media, Shapeshifter has managed to bring in a number of veterans from the Saints Row studio. This includes people like Rob Loftus and Brian Traficante, who are serving as dual studio heads, at Shapeshifter. Others include longtime Volition level designers like Jeff Touchstone and Chad Dodson, software engineer David Andsager, quest designer Alex Cline, along with designers Darren Dienst and Bryan Dillow.
Shapeshifter is a co-development partner for AAA games. Our goal is to grow and assist developers and publishers by providing a sustainable workforce model.
While the Volition closure ultimately had a happy ending for many, Embracer looks to be gearing up for another round of layoffs. Last week saw additional layoffs hit Black Forest Games, a studio which has become known for the Destroy All Humans franchise, but was currently working on a video game adaptation of the popular comic series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin. Reports indicated that around 50% of the workforce was reduced, which continued the rough trend of layoffs and closures happening to the gaming industry so far in 2024.
Saints Row 2022
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
As the future Boss, with Neenah, Kevin, and Eli by your side, you’ll form The Saints – and take on Los Panteros, The Idols, and Marshall as you build your empire across the streets of Santo Ileso and battle for control of the city. Ultimately Saints Row is the story of a start-up company, it’s just that the business The Saints are in happens to be crime.
Experience the biggest and best Saints Row playground ever created; the unique sprawling world of Santo Ileso is the backdrop for a wild, larger than life sandbox of thrilling side hustles, criminal ventures and blockbuster missions, as you shoot, drive, and wingsuit your way to the top.
Witness the Birth of The Saints – Play through an action blockbuster original story full of criminality, extraordinary scenes and signature surprises laced with humor.
Discover the Weird, Wild, West – Dive in to Santo Ileso, the biggest and best Saints Row playground ever, spread across nine unique districts surrounded by the vast, majestic beauty of the Southwest Desert.
Build Your Criminal Empire – Take over the city block by block, wage war against enemy factions and tighten your grip on the streets with ingenious criminal ventures.
- Developer(s)
- Volition
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer
- Franchise
- Saints Row
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Microsoft Windows, Stadia
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Action-Adventure, Third-Person Shooter, Adventure
