Following the success of Returnal, many people are hotly anticipating whatever comes next from Finnish PlayStation Studios developer Housemarque, but unfortunately, the main mind behind Returnal won’t be contributing. Today it was announced that Returnal director Harry Krueger will be leaving Housemarque after 14 years with the company. Here’s what Krueger had to say about the move…
“During my 14 years at Housemarque, I’ve been incredibly fortunate to work on one dream project after another, and had the privilege of working alongside some truly talented and wonderful people along the way. It’s been an honor to accompany Housemarque on this journey, witnessing our growth from our smaller arcade-inspired titles to the magnificent heights we reached with Returnal.
We really shook the pillars of heaven together, and I will forever be proud of all the amazing things we’ve accomplished as a studio. Departing from Housemarque was a very difficult decision for me, but I’m leaving the company with nothing but deep gratitude for the past, and a glowing optimism for the future – with an exciting new project in the works, a fantastic team that’s stronger than ever, and the continuous support of Sony and Playstation Studios, I know that Housemarque’s brightest chapter has yet to be written.”
Needless to say, this is a fairly major blow to Housemarque. In addition to leading Returnal, Krueger also directed Nex Machina and was the lead programmer behind earlier fan-favorite titles like Resogun. As I discovered in a past interview with him, he’s also a really nice guy.
Krueger has not revealed what he might be doing next, although, presumably, he’ll be staying in the industry. As for Housemarque, they let slip that they’re still gearing up for their next big project, implying it’s likely still somewhere in the conceptual or pre-production phase. So, don’t expect whatever it might be to arrive for a while.
What do you think? Is this departure cause for concern? Or are you still looking forward to whatever Housemarque cooks up next?
