Volition Games, best known for its (now defunct) Saint's Row series, was shuttered by publisher Embracer Group following the release of a reboot of the franchise in 2022. Embracer's slow-motion implosion is something we've been chronicling for what feels like an age (in reality, it's been six months), so it's nice to report on a studio opening for a change. Former Volition veterans have reunited under a new banner, that of Shapeshifter Games.
Spotted by Techraptor, according to the developer's newly created LinkedIn page, the new outfit is based in Champaign, Illinois, working with other developers and publishers to produce AAA games. Studio head Matt Madigan says Shapeshifter's goal is to "grow and assist developers and publishers by providing a sustainable workforce model", and they're currently hiring. Former Volition producer Rob Loftus will serve as studio director, and Brian Traficante will again be a creative director, just now at Shapeshifter Games.
Are you glad to see something besides a better bottom line come out of this Embracer mess? Would you rather see something similar to Saint's Row out of the studio or something entirely different? Turn over a new leaf of your own in the comments section below.
[source linkedin.com, via techraptor.net]
Comments 18
GOSH DAMN, a lot of new studios forming from defunct studios or just former employees! Very nice, very nice.
Thought it was kind of weird that Push Square was doing a story on this since it sounds like they’re working with Xbox Studios on a new game. But then the article conveniently left out that part, lol.
https://www.purexbox.com/news/2024/01/shapeshifter-games-apparently-co-developing-xbox-game-studios-project
Yea and there co-developing and an Xbox game. Man MS isn't playing around anyone. They have so much in development it's almost overwhelming. Sonys output is almost laughable now in comparison.
I do hope it goes well for them this time.
I think I'm one of the few people who got the plat for agents of mayhem lol
Can't wait to see what they cook next, even if it's xbox exclusive.
Here's hoping they can go back to their roots.
I hope they start making decent titles again as the saints row series whilst good at first out stayed their welcome and let's not even start on that god awful reboot or whatever it was. Good luck to them.
@Northern_munkey
If they made a spiritual successor to red faction guerilla I'd be ecstatic.
Happy days, good for them.
@ATaco yeah I'll go with that too 👍
@Ken_Kaniff It would be strange if it wasn't like that.
They spent 80 billion on two publishers and have 32+ internal studios. If they can't release first-party games at a pace of at least 4-5 per year, something is seriously rotten there.
This year they have Towerborne, Call of Duty Gulf War, Avowed, Indiana Jones, ARA: History Untold, Hellblade 2 and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 which is pretty nice start.
xbox exclusive just means it’s gonna be on PC too so i’m happy lol
Let's hope that the industry which couldn't sustain fewer games being made by more people in fewer studios can instead sustain more games being made by more studios, each with fewer people. Sincerely.
Having reading the comments above, after the Blizzard info and now this, it feels like there's more MS news than Sony news on Push at the minute...
Even one of the sources you linked (techraptor) mentions that they are working on an Xbox game, in the title and text of their article, so why did you edit all that out and not mention it?
Probably working on Crackdown 4 or reboot for xbox.
Edit: it is clockwork revolution they are working with xbox on. Working as a support studio for inxile.
QA went down the toilet with the series as soon as the proper THQ went under. SR4 and Gat out of Hell were good but the bugs and jank and lack of polish was obvious, something that they seemingly couldn't shake for the reboot. Hope this new studio actually makes something to the quality standards that the series and games like it deserve.
It's so weird to me that this series WAS a triple A, big budget affair led by a team in their prime and then so soon after it just... Wasn't. It's shocking GTA hasn't really had a genuine competitor in the gap between 5 and 6. Big hopes for this new studio as a lifelong SR fan 😅
@Godot25 Yea Its crazy. Theirs no way Sony can stay at the top forever with that kind of output from MS. Hell I haven't had an Xbox since the 360 and im even starting to pique over the fence, lol.
Embracer will be next it's only a matter of time to think those IPs if they are not sold to someone who will do something with them could be lost and one of them is my fave franchise Soul Reaver
Let’s do Saints Row, but with frogs.
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