Bret Robbins, the founder and director of Ascendant Studios, the brains behind the Immortals of Aveum game, recently confirmed in an interview that despite laying off 45% of the studio's workforce, the company still has other plans underway. Future ventures are said to include a deeper dive into the Immortals universe and multiple other projects.
Robbins candidly discussed the failure of Immortals of Aveum during the interview with GamesIndustry, aiming to shed light on the factors that led to the sharp decline of Ascendant’s flagship title. Not long ago, a major UK supermarket chain was selling copies of Immortals of Aveum for a mere £1, pointing to the game's plummeting relevance since its release in August 2023.
Robbins believes that sharing stories of failure and mistakes is just as important as those about grand successes. Just because a project didn't hit the mark doesn't mean that it was bad or that its tale shouldn't be told.
The decision to delay the game’s launch for 'polishing' and its release clashing with other major titles like Star Wars: Jedi Survivor, Armored Core 6, Starfield, Alan Wake 2, Baldur’s Gate 3, and Spider-Man 2 contributed significantly to its downfall. Despite having full support from powerhouse publisher Electronic Arts, Robbins admitted, 'We got absolutely lost in the noise.'
The major competition proved too much for Ascendant Studios, a newcomer in the gaming industry. Robbins raises questions about whether their marketing efforts were directed towards the right audience, acknowledging that they were not able to generate the prerequisite awareness.
It is unfortunate that despite receiving a relatively favorable response for its promising and innovative early trailers, Immortals of Aveum ultimately didn't take off as expected.
Although Robbins hasn’t divulged information on the new projects Ascendant Studios is embarking on, he did reassure GamesIndustry that they definitely have more games in the making.
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