Saints Row studio Volition shut down by Embracer

31.08.2023 - 17:27 / polygon.com

Saints Row and Red Faction developer Volition is no more. The studio’s owner, Embracer Group, has closed Volition “effective immediately,” according to a statement posted on Volition’s LinkedIn profile. The closure of the Champaign, Illinois-based company comes shortly after the studio celebrated its 30th anniversary in June.

Volition wrote in the statement that the studio’s closure is the victim of an overall restructuring program at owner Embracer. In June, the Swedish gaming company and media conglomerate announced plans to close multiple studios and cancel games in the wake of news that a deal worth $2 billion in income had fallen through. Axios later reported that the Saudi government-funded Savvy Games Group was the party that backed out of an investment deal with Embracer. (Savvy Games previously committed $1 billion to Embracer.)

Here’s Volition’s full statement on the studio’s closure:

The Volition team has proudly created world-class entertainment for fans around the globe for 30 years. We’ve been driven by a passion for our community and always worked to deliver joy, surprise, and delight.

This past June, Embracer Group announced a restructuring program to strengthen Embracer and maintain its position as a leader in the video game industry. As part of that program, they evaluated strategic and operational goals and made the difficult decision to close Volition effective immediately.

To help our team, we are working to provide job assistance and help smooth the transition for our Volition family members. We thank our customers and fans around the world for all the love and support over the years. You will always be in our hearts.

Volition’s most recent game was a reboot of the Saints Row franchise. The new Saints Row launched in February 2022 as a refresh of the open-world crime franchise, but underperformed critically and commercially, according to a 2023 financial report from Embracer.

A development source at Volition said that the closure was unexpected — outside of the overall restructuring at Embracer — and swift. An “emergency meeting” was called on Thursday morning and the studio was closed minutes later, according to a now-former employee.

Polygon has reached out to Plaion, the publisher that owns Deep Silver, which Volition was part of, for comment on the studio’s closure and will update when it responds.