Immortals of Aveum’s commercial failure led to significant issues for developer Ascendant Studios, starting with from nearly half the studio getting laid off to the majority of the remainder of the staff being furloughed earlier in the year. Now, however, it seems the studio – or its existing members – are moving on to a new project.
Absurd Ventures – established last year by former Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser – has announced in a press release that it has established a new studio, Absurd Marin, that comprises of the Immortals of Aveum team, including being led by the shooter’s director and Ascendant Studios founder and CEO Bret Robbins. The studio is working on a new story-driven action-adventure title.
“Bret has put together a highly talented, passionate team,” said Dan Houser. “We are very excited to have them join forces with us as we begin to work together on one of our original new titles.”
“We love the focus on storytelling and world building at Absurd Ventures,” said Bret Robbins. “We are thrilled to team up and bring our combined expertise to work on an original game set in an incredibly fun new universe.”
There isn’t much clarity on what specifically this will mean for Ascendant Studios’ future, but in a statement on Twitter, Robbins has stated that the studio will be “going quiet” as it focuses its efforts on its new project.
“Leading the Ascendant team has been one of the greatest experiences of my professional life,” Robbins’ statement reads. “I feel incredibly lucky to work with such a passionate and hard working team. From learning UE5, to building an acclaimed combat system, to crafting a new fantasy world for Immortals of Aveum, it has been an amazing journey. Now we move forward into our next chapter, and I can’t wait to share more details with you soon.”