Ascendant Studios, the game development studio behind the magical shooter game Immortals of Aveum, recently announced a significant layoff of 40 employees, accounting for 45% of their workforce. This decision comes after the game’s sales failed to meet expectations.
Established in 2018 by Bret Robbins, a former executive at EA and Sledgehammer Games, Ascendant Studios made its debut with Immortals of Aveum in 2023, with EA as the game’s distributor.
Immortals of Aveum is a first-person shooter game set in a fantasy world where players wield magic instead of guns, reminiscent of classics like Heretic or Hexen. Developed on the cutting-edge Unreal Engine 5, the game has received mixed reviews, with an average rating of 70/100. Furthermore, the player base on Steam has reached a modest peak of only 800 players. One contributing factor to these limitations is the game’s high system requirements on PCs, making it inaccessible to a wider audience.
Acknowledging the situation, Bret Robbins took to Twitter and admitted the necessity of the layoffs. He expressed his pride in the team’s ability to establish a new studio and create a new game that breaks away from the trend of sequels, utilizing the latest technology, UE5. Despite the layoffs, the team remains committed to continuing updates for Immortals of Aveum.
In summary, Ascendant Studios, the developer of Immortals of Aveum, has announced a significant layoff of 40 employees or 45% of their total workforce due to underwhelming game sales. The game, an FPS with a magical twist set in a fantasy world, had moderate critical reception and a limited player base on Steam. Despite these challenges, Ascendant Studios, under the leadership of Bret Robbins, remains committed to the ongoing development of Immortals of Aveum.
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