Activision has formally introduced Elsewhere Leisure, a brand new inner studio based mostly in Warsaw, Poland. Activision says this new studio is concentrated on “creating a brand new narrative-based and genre-defining AAA franchise.” Whereas thrilling, its inception could not have come at a worse time for each Activision and the trade as an entire.
Based on the corporate’s announcement submit, Elsewhere is “constructed from the bottom up” and consists of a group of storytelling specialists whose credit embrace The Final of Us, Uncharted, The Witcher, Cyberpunk, Future, Tom Clancy’s The Division, and Far Cry.
Whereas that is actually a powerful line-up of AAA titles, I am unsure I belief Activision, the corporate identified for shoving microtransactions down everybody’s throats at any alternative they get, to create a brand new, narrative-based franchise and it solely be in regards to the narrative expertise.
However my belief in Activision is a narrative for an additional day. After studying the announcement and seeing that Elsewhere is shaped of devs from a few of my favorite video games, The Final Of Us and Cyberpunk 2077 being the 2 primary ones, I used to be met with a wave of pleasure as I contemplated on what this new studio may create.
A Darkish Time For The Video Recreation Trade
Then I used to be introduced again all the way down to earth after remembering that Microsoft, who now formally owns Activision, simply shut down Tango Gameworks, Arkane Austin, Alpha Canine and Roundhouse Video games. The previous of which had simply launched some of the fashionable and beloved video games of 2023: Hello-Fi Rush.
Regardless of the important acclaim and a number of high-profile awards, Hello-Fi Rush, apparently, wasn’t sufficient to stop the closure of Tango Gameworks. And this, sadly, is simply the most recent in an extended line of shutdowns and layoffs. Based on Obsidian (a web site that tracks recreation trade layoffs), there have been roughly 9,700 layoffs for the reason that starting of the yr. Virtually the identical quantity as the entire of 2023.
In fact, new studios aren’t simply shaped in a single day. It is speculated that Elsewhere Leisure’s first title has been in growth since 2022, lengthy earlier than online game layoffs grew to become a weekly prevalence. However, nonetheless, the timing of the announcement is most actually odd. For Activision to announce the formation of a brand new studio, simply days after its father or mother firm closed 4 totally different studios appears tone-deaf.
Ought to I Even Be Excited?
Elsewhere Leisure has the foundations to be a studio that makes the kind of video video games I like. AAA, narrative-based titles from a number of the trade’s largest names? I ought to be excited to see what the studio is cooking, however is there any level?
Studios like Naughty Canine and Insomniac Video games, who’ve introduced us the likes of The Final of Us and Marvel’s Spider-Man have been hit with layoffs over the past 12 months. Heck, even Activision-Blizzard was hit with nearly 2,000 layoffs shortly after being acquired by Microsoft. So what’s to say that Elsewhere Leisure will not meet the identical destiny as these different studios?
I am excited to see what Elsewhere is cooking, however proper now, it is troublesome to be captivated with any new video video games when so many hard-working builders are dropping their jobs left and proper.
