Ascendant Studios, the California-based video game developer founded by Call of Duty programmer Bret Robbins, has laid off approximately 45% of its employees just weeks after the launch of its debut title Immortals of Aveum. The studio had employed over 100 people as of April 2023 before letting go around 40 staff members in a round of layoffs that Robbins described as a “painfully difficult but necessary decision.” The remaining 20% have been reported to be on furlough.
The layoffs come in the wake of underwhelming sales for Immortals of Aveum, Ascendant Studios’ first ever video game release. According to sources at the studio, disappointing commercial reception for the fantasy action RPG was the primary driver behind the significant reduction in Ascendant’s workforce. One former employee speculated that sales had fallen short of targets by as much as 80-90%.
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Immortals of Aveum had been in development for several years as the inaugural project for Ascendant Studios, which Robbins founded in 2018 with the backing of Chinese internet technology company NetEase.
Billed as a AAA game experience powered by proprietary cloud gaming technology, expectations were high for Immortals to make a splash as a showcase title for the fledgling studio.
However, the game garnered only middling reviews from critics upon its full release on March 10, 2023, with many praising its visuals and combat but criticizing its story, characters, and overall lack of polish.
This appears to have contributed to it failing to attract a broad commercial audience. For a studio as ambitious and well-funded as Ascendant, the lackluster reception amounted to a significant setback.
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In his statement announcing the layoffs, Robbins praised his team’s accomplishments in building Ascendant from the ground up and bringing a fully new IP to market-powered by brand-new technology.
“I am so proud of what our independent development team has accomplished with Immortals of Aveum,” he said. “Together we’ve created a new AAA studio, a new IP, on new technology, during an era of our industry when that is exceedingly rare.”
However, the cuts made to the team illustrate the harsh realities of the gaming industry, where new studios often struggle to turn critical success into commercial viability with their early releases.
While praising his former team members and promising to support those affected, Robbins signaled Ascendant would stay the course with Immortals, vowing continued “future updates and offers” to build on the IP’s foundations. For instance, the announced FSR3 console update is outsourced to an external studio (Enduring Games), so it will likely still happen.
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