Immortals of Aveum studio faces massive layoff

Immortals from AveumThree people from the Ascendant Studios studio claim that nearly half their staff has been laid off. The studio was estimated to have employed between 80 and 100 workers before the layoffs. Around 40 people were laid-off. Bret Robbins, Ascendant’s CEO, announced the layoffs at a Thursday meeting.

A former employee told Polygon: Immortals from Aveum’s poor sales were cited for the layoffs, which were said to be necessary to keep the studio running. Immortals from AveumThe game was released Aug. 22, on PlayStation 5 and Windows PC. It also appeared on Xbox Series X. The first-person shooter was published by Electronic Arts as an EA Original title — it was originally heralded as a “groundbreaking” AAA single-player magic shooter from an independent studio. The game was met with mixed reactions from critics who claimed that the triple-A style of gameplay had been recycled.

Immortals from AveumSteamDB says that SteamDB peaked with just over 800 Steam players a few days after its launch. Just under one month since its launch, the game has peaked at 74 players over the past 24 hours, per the database’s numbers. It could partly be due to Immortals of Aveum’s intense technical requirements — according to The Verge, less than 9% of PCs may have qualified to run the game.

Steam figures do not show a profit for a first-person shooter with a large budget. Former employee Polygon said that Immortals from Aveum is likely one of Electronic Arts’ worst selling originals. One former employee reported that several others were also let go in the week following release.

Ascendant Studios has not responded to Polygon’s request for comment.