Former Immortals of Aveum Devs Join Dan Houser's New Studio

Absurd Ventures, founded by Dan Houser, has launched a new studio named Absurd Marin, led by Bret Robbins, director of the previously unsuccessful game Immortals of Aveum. This studio comprises around 20 former developers from Ascendant Studios, the team behind Immortals, which suffered from poor sales despite a high budget. Now, Absurd Marin is working on a new story-driven adventure title, but details remain scarce as the project is still in early development. This comes as a silver lining for these developers after a significant layoff at Ascendant Studios, where about 45% of the workforce was let go post the game's underperformance. Immortals of Aveum attempted to merge FPS action with magical combat but ultimately fell short of expectations, as noted by critics.

The failure of Immortals of Aveum not only affected its sales but led to significant layoffs at Ascendant Studios. However, the formation of Absurd Marin provides a fresh opportunity for the developers to start anew and leverage their experience in crafting a new story-driven adventure game away from the critical and financial setbacks of their last project.

Immortals of Aveum was released amid a competitive gaming landscape and was intended to offer a unique spin on the FPS genre by incorporating spell-based magic combat. Unfortunately, it did not resonate with players, leading to its classification as a commercial failure. The game's ambition to blend various gameplay elements fell flat, and it struggled to attract an audience, making the eventual layoffs at Ascendant Studios a harsh reality for many involved in its creation.