Ascendant Studios, the developer of the first-person-shooter-but-with-magic title Immortals of Aveum, is laying off nearly half of its team only a few weeks after releasing the game. CEO Bret Robbins confirmed that the company would be letting go of around 45 percent of its workers.
“This was a painfully difficult, but necessary decision that was not made lightly; nevertheless, we have to make this adjustment now that Immortals of Aveum has shipped,” Robbins wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Ascendant will offer the laid-off workers severance packages and help with finding a job elsewhere. The remaining team members will continue to support the game for the time being.
Immortals of Aveum is the first game from Ascendant, which is an independent studio with experienced developers at the helm. However, publisher EA likely didn’t do the game any favors with its release date.
After a delay pushed back the game by a month to August 22, Immortals of Aveum arrived at around the same time as Baldur’s Gate III, Armored Core VI and Starfield.
Reports suggest that Immortals of Aveum (which largely garnered middling reviews) didn’t sell well, and low player counts on Steam indicate that’s the case.
