In the span of a few hours, two new AAA gaming studios led by long-time industry veterans have been unveiled.
To begin with, Stig Asmussen, formerly Game Director on God of War III, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, has founded Giant Skull.
The studio is already working on an AAA single player action/adventure game made with Unreal Engine 5. As part of the news, Asmussen stated:
The Giant Skull studio culture is founded on creativity and curiosity. We have assembled a talented team renowned for immersive storytelling, heroic combat, and exhilarating traversal, and our goal is to craft a rich universe that players will want to lose themselves in for years to come.
The Giant Skull team is already filled to the brim with experienced AAA developers, including Chief Technological Officer Jon Carr (a technical director on Star Wars Jedi: Survivor), Art Director Patrick Murphy (Fortnite, Valorant, League of Legends, God of War), Lead Producer Lauren McLemore ( Fortnite), Design Director Jeff Magers (both Star Wars Jedi games), Animation Director Brian Campbell (Fortnite team), and Chief Operating Officer/Chief Financial Officer Anthony Scott, who worked at Rocksteady Studios and more recently at Unbroken Studios.
The other AAA studio announcement is emptyvessel, an independent team spearheaded by CEO and Game Director Emanuel Palalic and COO and General Manager Garrett Young, both of whom worked at id Software on Doom. The founding team also includes CTO Wei Ning, Art Director Alex Palma (another Doom veteran), and Animation Director Rico Flores. Empytvessel (based in Austin but operating in a fully remote capacity) has already released a teaser for its first project, an immersive shooter powered by Unreal Engine 5 and inspired by dystopian sci-fi worlds.
Emanuel Palalic, CEO and Game Director at emptyvessel, said:
Many game developers like myself began our journey fueled by the dream of one day bringing our worlds to life. By prioritizing and aligning with our strengths, we’re confident it’s possible to create AAA-quality games with smaller, focused teams. The industry has often overlooked the people who pour their hearts and souls into crafting these worlds. With emptyvessel, we’re determined to change that narrative and make that dream a reality for as many developers as we can.
Needless to say, it’ll be a while before we hear anything concrete, especially from Giant Skull.
