Immortals of Aveum developer Ascendant Studios lays off almost half of its staff

Following the release of its debut title Immortals of Aveum last month, Ascendant Studios CEO Bret Robbins announced that the developer had laid off nearly half of its workforce.

The details:

• Robbins announced the layoffs via a statement posted to his X account. “Today, we are heartbroken as we part ways with friends and colleagues at Ascendant Studios – about 45% of our team,” Robbins said. “This was a painfully difficult, but necessary decision that was not made lightly – nevertheless, we have to make this adjustment now that Immortals of Aveum has shipped.”
• The CEO also confirmed that the studio would assist affected former employees in "every way [it] can" with severance packages, job placement assistance, and support services for the company's remaining employees. He also encouraged other developers to contact Ascendant if they are interested in hiring the laid-off employees. “If your studio is looking for proven UE5 artists and engineers, please reach out and let us know so we can introduce you to some incredibly talented game devs.”
• Immortals of Aveum was released to mixed reviews in August, and despite a large marketing campaign featuring various content creators playing the game on Twitch and YouTube, it ultimately sold poorly. At launch, the game had 751 concurrent players on Steam according to SteamDB, which quickly dropped to an average of less than 100.

More gaming news:

• Stig Asmussen, the director of the Star Wars Jedi series, is leaving EA and Respawn Entertainment. It's unclear where the director will go next, but EA has stated that other senior leadership will continue to help guide the development of a third Star Wars Jedi title.
• The next Mass Effect will reportedly abandon the open-world design of Mass Effect Andromeda and return to the series' original linear narrative style, according to sources. The game is still in pre-production, so this may change in the future, but the poor reception of Andromeda is likely to have played a role in the decision.