Housemarque, Sony's Finnish studio that brought us PS5's excellent Returnal, has announced the departure of a long-serving member of the team. Harry Krueger, director of the aforementioned game, will be leaving the studio after 14 years.
Krueger joined Housemarque in 2009 as a gameplay programmer, and quickly made his way up the ladder. He has credits in various games from the studio, including Outland, Resogun, and Nex Machina.
On the studio's website, Krueger comments on the move: "During my 14 years at Housemarque, I’ve been incredibly fortunate to work on one dream project after another, and had the privilege of working alongside some truly talented and wonderful people along the way," he says. "It's been an honor to accompany Housemarque on this journey, witnessing our growth from our smaller arcade-inspired titles to the magnificent heights we reached with Returnal."
He calls the depature a "very difficult decision", but has "nothing but deep gratitude for the past, and a glowing optimism for the future".
Housemarque's co-founder and general manager, Ilari Kuittinen, sings his praises: "Harry's passion and direction have been vital in sculpting our studio's trajectory to the current scale. The rebirth of “Arcade” , defined by Returnal, speaks volumes of his impact and vision, and is a great point for future leaders to take over and keep improving upon."
It's not known where Krueger will be heading next, but of course we wish him all the best for his next endeavour.
[source housemarque.com]
Comments 37
Nex Machina and Returnal are just awesome. What a legacy.
Kudos to his accomplishments within Housemarque. I selfishly hope he starts a new studio that goes back to the twin stick shooter roots of Housemarque that made them so good.
Never a good sign. Somebody didn't wanna hear "live" elements for their next game maybe? I can only speculate but be better Sony. You are starting to make MS look like a quality publisher
Congratulations! They've made some special games
@Nyne11Tyme People move on and 14 years with the same dev is almost unheard of.
There is absolutely nothing to suggest this has anything to do with Sony's planned next games and your speculation is a pretty poor reach, no doubt driven by your desire to throw some shade.
Great contribution to some excellent titles and I hope his future is just as bright as it has already been!
Wishing him the best on the next step in his career, reading between the lines of the press release seems like a very amicable split.
@Nyne11Tyme This sort of idle speculation doesn't help anyone. People move on for a variety of reasons, or are headhunted, all the time. It's perfectly normal and doesn't have to be a bad sign at all. Scaremongering.
And Freddy in...
Man, it seems like we’re seeing more of these departures than usual. I’m not trying to be an alarmist, and I know it’s commonplace for personnel leave to further their careers, but… where there’s smoke is there indeed a fire?
Returnal was a hit and miss kinda game, it was a excellent game, miles ahead of any of their previous games but still couldn't achieve sales success even after hitting PC as well. Wish him the best for the future and I look forward to what the team he's left behind produces next.
Noooo!!!! Returnal is genuinely one of my favorite games ever. Can’t wait to see what he does next.
The best of luck to his next endeavor(s). He definitely left on a high note — Returnal is a phenomenal gaming experience.
Harry went beyond the point of no Returnal
Damn, Returnal is still easily my favourite PS5 game so I'm sad to see him go. Let's hope their creative direction remains equally strong after his departure.
@DonaldMcRonald Thanks man!
@UltimateOtaku91 Returnal was Housemarques most successful game and according to Sony a "mega hit."
So… not a Returnal 2 then? Which should have been a straight up Metroidvania anyway.
@JAMes-BroWWWn I wouldn't say 600k copies sold in a year is a mega hit, but yeah it might be the studios most successful game so far. Hopefully the next game can do even better and tbh I think Returnal would of sold a bit better if not for the hard default difficulty.
@DonaldMcRonald Thanks! And I always appreciate sarcasm connoisseurs
@UltimateOtaku91 It was 560k in like 2 months when only about 10m people owned a PlayStation 5. It was also one of the first £70 games.
Thats a very respectable total, but doesn't sound impressive compared to some of these massive AAA game sales you hear about now.
Oh GHOD... this MUST mean they have a live service game in development!!!! Look what happened to Rocksteady!!!!
No doubt Warner Bros are involved in this somehow 😋😉😋😉😋
Best of luck for the future!
And another one is gone. If I had to put my money on it. It's probably due to whatever Sony is trying to force them to make while having Bungie hover over them through the whole process. I wouldn't be surprised if more top talent leaves Sony in the next 12 plus months.
Love Returnal and wishing him every success in the future ❤️🌈👍🏻
Returnal has become one of my all-time favorites; an absolute masterpiece in the art form. Sad to see him go, for sure, but wish him and the studio the very best.
Returnal is my favourite game on ps5, so very sad to see him leaving but wishing him the best.
@Czar_Khastik @DonaldMcRonald I second that! Didn’t like your comments at first — they were just another negative comment in a sea of them — but once I finally read your username out loud in my head, I’ve come to appreciate them (I’m a bit slow) 🤪
@UltimateOtaku91 600k in 3 months equals over 42 million dollars. For a niche game like Returnal, I see why Sony called it a massive game.
@Nyne11Tyme invents a scenario, get outraged at invented scenario lmao
For those that havent read his full statement:
""Departing from Housemarque was a very difficult decision for me, but I'm leaving the company with nothing but deep gratitude for the past, and a glowing optimism for the future–with an exciting new project in the works, a fantastic team that's stronger than ever, and the continuous support of Sony and Playstation Studios, I know that Housemarque's brightest chapter has yet to be written."
Its quite clear he's not leaving the company with any ill will at all, and expects big things for their new game.
Man what the hell? 😠😡😢
@Czar_Khastik hahaha!! Take a bow this is ace!’
I'm guessing he wasn't directing their new game then because that has obviously already been in development for a while.
@DonaldMcRonald @Impossibilium Nice comments guys, thanks! I just wanted to see what will happen first: I lose my inspiration or Jim Ryan resigns. Well, we see how that turned out in the end.
And the username, I had to use it just to prevent people from throwing rocks at me after reading my comments
@Luigia Thanks! Some might say it is pun-tastic. Ok, I'll see myself out now ...
Returnal remains one of my favorite games of this generation so far.
Thats a shame, wish him all the best.
Returnal did not sell that well
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...