The developer behind the most recent Saints Row, Volition Games, has been shut down effective immediately. The company made the announcement on its own website, saying that the Embracer Group made the decision as part of its restructuring program. Currently, Volition Games is working to provide job assistance to its team, but it seems like the news came as a bit of a surprise.
Volition Games was originally founded in 1993 as Parallax Software and gamers who have been around a while, like myself, may remember them as being the developers behind Descent. The company was renamed Volition after the two founders, Mike Kulas and Matt Toschlog, split in 1996. Since then, Volition has been known for several franchises, including Red Faction and Saints Row. While the most recent reboot of the Saints Row franchise didn’t exactly appeal to long-term fans, the closure of a studio is always unfortunate, especially given the impact on its employees.
Here’s the statement Volition released on its website:
The Volition team has proudly created world-class entertainment for fans around the globe for 30 years. We’ve been driven by a passion for our community and always worked to deliver joy, surprise, and delight.
This past June, Embracer Group announced a restructuring program to strengthen Embracer and maintain its position as a leader in the video game industry. As part of that program, they evaluated strategic and operational goals and made the difficult decision to close Volition effective immediately.
To help our team, we are working to provide job assistance and help smooth the transition for our Volition family members. We thank our customers and fans around the world for all the love and support over the years. You will always be in our hearts.
– Volition Games
