Ascendant Studios lays off half its staff less than a month after Immortals of Aveum launched

Jak empowered by blue magic
(Image credit: Ascendant Studios)

Ascendant Studios has laid off nearly half of its staff less than a month after the launch of Immortals of Aveum due to poor sales.

The studio's CEO Bret Robbins announced the layoffs on Twitter on September 14, saying that the Ascendant is "heartbroken" to part with "about 45% of its team," but that it's a "necessary decision."

"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 said. "We are supporting those affected in every way we can, including comprehensive severance packages and job placement assistance, as well as support services for those who remain.

"If your studio is looking for proven UE5 artists and engineers, please reach out and let us know so we can introduce you to some incredibly talented game devs."

Immortals of Aveum launched on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on August 22 and currently has a score of 70 on Metacritic, however, the magical FPS game seems to have not been able to reach satisfactory sales during its first month, leading to the layoffs. 

"I am so proud of what our independent development team has accomplished with Immortals of Aveum," the CEO continued. "Together we’ve created a new AAA studio, a new IP, on new technology, during an era of our industry when that is exceedingly rare.

"We’ve poured our passion into Immortals, while wearing our hearts on our sleeves. The studio will continue to work that way as we support the development of this game and our Immortals IP moving forward with future updates and offers."

Robbins finished his statement by thanking the team for their "invaluable contributions to Ascendant’s culture" and their "tremendous impact on bringing Immortals of Aveum to life."

We gave Immortals of Aveum a 3 out of 5 stars in our review, describing it as "a fun arcade shooter that is less than the sum of its parts. The stunning world and unique concept aren’t quite charming enough to make up for the game’s sluggish pace and disjointed combat."

If you're looking for the next game to play, here's our guide to every upcoming game of 2023 for PC and console, as well as the best co-op games available now.

Read more
Venom gameplay in Marvel Rivals.
NetEase Games has issued a statement on Marvel Rivals layoffs, citing ‘organizational reasons’
Talion fighting an orc in Shadow of War
Warner Bros. has closed three studios and canceled its Wonder Woman game
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
BioWare has quietly laid off long-time Dragon Age devs as it downsizes the studio and turns its focus to Mass Effect 5
Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered
Sony's unannounced Horizon Zero Dawn MMO, codenamed 'Project H', has reportedly been scrapped
Sony HQ
Sony seems eager to avoid another Concord level flop, canceling two unannounced live service PlayStation games
inZOI.
inZOI early access is the most disappointed I’ve been with a game in years
Latest in Consoles & PC
Image of Naoe in AC Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows is hands-down one of the most beautiful PC ports I've ever seen
Image of AC Shadows cover art & Steam Deck
It's not perfect, but Assassin's Creed Shadows' performance is impressive - it runs smoothly on the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally
Steam Deck OLED in limited edition white color
With a single update SteamOS could turbocharge handheld PCs – here's how
Samus Aran leaping through space
Metroid Prime 4 tipped to be at the heart of April's Nintendo Switch 2 deep-dive
Nintendo Switch 2
Nintendo Switch 2 expected to have AI upscaling and I can't wait to finally play Tears of the Kingdom with upgraded graphics
Asus ROG Ally using Steam
I think Asus could be the perfect partner for an Xbox handheld – but I have questions
Latest in News
A young woman is working on a laptop in a relaxed office space.
I’ll admit, Microsoft’s new Windows 11 update surprised me with its usefulness, providing accessibility fixes, a gamepad keyboard layout, and PC spec cards
inZOI promotional material.
inZOI has become the most wishlisted game on Steam, but I wouldn't get too caught up in the hype
Xbox Series X and Xbox wireless controller set to a green background
Xbox Insiders are currently testing a new Game Hub feature that looks useful, but I've got mixed feelings about it
A stylized depiction of a padlocked WiFi symbol sitting in the centre of an interlocking vault.
Broadcom warns of worrying security flaws affecting VMware tools
Nespresso Vertuo Pop machine in Candy Pink with coffee drinks and capsules
My favorite Nespresso coffee maker just got a fresh new makeover, and now I love it even more
Microsoft Surface Laptop and Surface Pro devices on a table.
Hate Windows 11’s search? Microsoft is fixing it with AI, and that almost makes me want to buy a Copilot+ PC