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Immortals of Aveum developer Ascendant Studios lays off nearly half of staff

The layoffs come just weeks after the release and lukewarm reception of Immortals of Aveum.

Donovan Erskine

September 15, 2023 8:35 AM

Ascendant Studios

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Immortals of Aveum was released last month from developer Ascendant Studios and publisher EA. The wizard shooter presented a unique premise in its blending of magic with Call of Duty-style shooting, but the game was met with a middling response from audiences and critics. Unfortunately, the disappointing launch has led to a massive shake up at the studio that made it. Ascendant Studios has laid off nearly half of its staff.

Ascendant Studios CEO Brett Robbins tweeted a statement yesterday to confirm the reports of mass layoffs at his company. “Today, we are heartbroken as we part ways with friends and colleagues at Ascendant Studios,” his statement reads. Robbins goes on to confirm that the layoffs are affecting 45 percent of the studio’s entire staff. “This was a painfully difficult, but necessary decision that was not made lightly…”

As for what led to the layoffs, the poor performance of Immortals of Aveum last month is undoubtedly the source. It was the company’s debut project, and failed to make much noise in the wake of other high-profile game releases. We here at Shacknews thought it was a fine magic FPS in our review. Despite the game coming up short, Robbins assured that the studio plans to support the Immortals of Aveum IP moving forward.

This news continues an unfortunate trend throughout the gaming industry in 2023. During the summer, Embracer Group announced that it would be laying off a large chunk of its workforce and reducing its operations after a major business deal fell through. This led to the closure of Saints Row developer Volition Studios. EA also laid off six percent of its employees earlier this year.

Ascendant Studios has requested that any studios looking to hire reach out to their HR department as they look to pair laid off workers with new gigs.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_