Video Games

Former Volition devs form Shapeshifter Games, work with Xbox Game Studios

A new support studio

Marco Wutz

Former Volition devs form Shapeshifter Games, work with Xbox Game Studios
Former Volition devs form Shapeshifter Games, work with Xbox Game Studios /

Some of the developers formerly working at Volition, which was closed by Embracer Group in 2023, have formed a new support studio called Shapeshifter Games, as spotted by Techraptor. Based in Champaign, Illinois, the company will focus on assisting other developers with their work on big titles – a job listing specifically mentions open-world games, Unreal Engine 5, and console development as areas of expertise the studio wants to provide.

According to one employee’s LinkedIn profile, the newly formed company has already landed a gig with Xbox Game Studios, assisting on an unspecified project.

Volition’s last released game was the reboot of Saints Row, which turned out to be a commercial miss and likely sent the studio to the top of Embracer Group’s long list of cost-cutting victims – a list that just got even longer with layoffs at Eidos Montreal.

Saints Row artwork.
Saints Row ended up being Volition's last project / Volition Games

Key personnel from Volition at Shapeshifter Games includes Matt Madigan, who has become the studio head, Rob Loftus, Shapeshifter’s studio director, and Brian Traficante, who took on a role as creative director.

“Our goal is to grow and assist developers and publishers by providing a sustainable workforce model. It has been great reconnecting with former colleagues and a great opportunity to help others who have been affected by the industry,” Madigan wrote in his announcement post revealing the studio.

An official statement on the studio’s own page said: “Shapeshifter is a new co-development studio that was started by pulling together a group of experienced developers from Volition. We are focused on AAA game development. One of the goals of the company is to create a more sustainable environment for developers to do their best work. We're already hard at work with a top publisher on their next great IP and looking to grow. Shapeshifter is always searching for talented developers to help us grow. Please reach out, we would love to hear from you.”

2023 has seen the worst job losses in the gaming industry in recent memory, and unfortunately 2024 will seemingly continue this trend with massive layoffs at Microsoft and Riot Games, among others.

Embracer Group cut 904 jobs in restructuring program so far

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Marco Wutz
MARCO WUTZ

Marco Wutz is a writer from Parkstetten, Germany. He has a degree in Ancient History and a particular love for real-time and turn-based strategy games like StarCraft, Age of Empires, Total War, Age of Wonders, Crusader Kings, and Civilization as well as a soft spot for Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. He began covering StarCraft 2 as a writer in 2011 for the largest German community around the game and hosted a live tournament on a stage at gamescom 2014 before he went on to work for Bonjwa, one of the country's biggest Twitch channels. He branched out to write in English in 2015 by joining tl.net, the global center of the StarCraft scene run by Team Liquid, which was nominated as the Best Coverage Website of the Year at the Esports Industry Awards in 2017. He worked as a translator on The Crusader Stands Watch, a biography in memory of Dennis "INTERNETHULK" Hawelka, and provided live coverage of many StarCraft 2 events on the social channels of tl.net as well as DreamHack, the world's largest gaming festival. From there, he transitioned into writing about the games industry in general after his graduation, joining GLHF, a content agency specializing in video games coverage for media partners across the globe, in 2021. He has also written for NGL.ONE, kicker, ComputerBild, USA Today's ForTheWin, The Sun, Men's Journal, and Parade. Email: marco.wutz@glhf.gg

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