Saints Row studio Volition closed in Embracer restructuring

Volition has closed its doors. The studio’s owner, Embracer Group, has closed Volition “effective immediately,” according to a statement posted on Volition’s LinkedIn profile. Closure of Champaign-based studio comes just a few months after it celebrated its 30-year anniversary.

Volition wrote in the statement that the studio’s closure is the victim of an overall restructuring program at owner Embracer. The Swedish media and gaming conglomerate, Volition, announced in June that it would close studios and cancel titles after a $2 billion deal fell through. Axios reported later that Embracer’s investment agreement was canceled by the Saudi-funded Savvy Games Group. Savvy Games had previously pledged $1 billion to Embracer.

Here’s Volition’s full statement on the studio’s closure:

Since 1989, the Volition team is proud to have created entertainment of world-class quality for its fans all over the globe. We’ve been driven by a passion for our community and always worked to deliver joy, surprise, and delight.

Embracer Group has announced restructuring plans to improve Embracer, and keep it as the industry leader. In order to evaluate strategic and operational objectives, the Embracer Group made the hard decision of closing Volition immediately.

We are providing job support and helping our Volition team members transition smoothly. Our customers and fans from around the globe are thanked for their love and support throughout the years. We will never forget you.

Volition’s most recent game was a reboot of the Saints Row franchise. The latest game in the Saints Row franchise is Volition’s most recent release. Saints RowAccording to Embracer’s 2023 report, the game was launched as an update of its open-world franchise in February 2022, but it underperformed both critically and commercially.

A development source at Volition said that the closure was unexpected — outside of the overall restructuring at Embracer — and swift. An “emergency meeting” was called on Thursday morning and the studio was closed minutes later, according to a now-former employee.

Polygon has reached out to Plaion, the publisher that owns Deep Silver, which Volition was part of, for comment on the studio’s closure and will update when it responds.