Star Wars Jedi director starts new studio with a bunch of ex-Respawn talent

Game director Stig Asmussen, who left Respawn Entertainment last fall after making two games for publisher Electronic Arts, has a new studio. It’s called Giant Skull, and he’s bringing a long list of ex-Respawn talent with him to his new venture.

Asmussen’s credits include Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, its sequel, and multiple God of War games. So it should be no surprise then that his new company is described as “dedicated to building gameplay-driven, story immersed action-adventure games set in captivating worlds.” Giant Skull’s first untitled project is a “AAA single-player-focused action-adventure,” built in Unreal Engine 5, the developer said in a news release announcing the studio.

Joining Asmussen at Giant Skull are other veteran game developers from Epic Games, Riot Games, and Rocksteady Studios, including: Jon Carr, technical director on Star Wars Jedi: Survivor; Patrick Murphy, an art director who worked on Fortnite, Valorant, League of Legends, and God of War; Lauren McLemore, a lead producer on Fortnite; Jeff Magers, design director on the Star Wars Jedi games; and Brian Campbell, formerly animation director at Epic Games.

“We have assembled a talented team renowned for immersive storytelling, heroic combat and exhilarating traversal, and our goal is to craft a rich universe that players will want to lose themselves in for years to come,” Asmussen said in a statement.

“We want players to join us on every step of this amazing journey, as we pave the way for our upcoming game,” said Anthony Scott, COO/CFO of Giant Skull, and formerly director of operations at Rocksteady Studios and head of Unbroken Studios. “We’re creating something special and have been fortunate enough to assemble an incredible initial team of developers who are extremely passionate and experienced in creating genre-defining, third person action-adventures.”

Giant Skull’s announcement comes just a few weeks after mass layoffs at publisher Electronic Arts, which also canceled Respawn’s in-development first-person shooter set in the Star Wars universe. Asmussen’s new studio also comes amid severe cutbacks at studios and publishers across North America and Europe; thousands of video game workers have lost their jobs this year, following a similarly dour year for employment in the industry.

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• Source: https://www.polygon.com/24097746/respawn-stig-asmussen-new-studio-giant-skull