Fans of the Red Faction and Saints Row video games might be familiar with their developer: Volition Games. Ever since they started out as Parallax Software Corporation in 1993 before changing to their current name in 1996, Volition has been developing both video games series into some pretty successful franchises. Even after the Embracer Group (formerly THQ Nordic) purchased them back in February 2018 (via their parent company of Koch Media), Volition still continued to develop the Saints Row franchise, and even released a reboot of the series. Alas, it seems like they will no longer be making Saints Row games, or even any games entirely. Not when they’re shutting down for good this time.
Volition Games: Final Details
Volition Games has just announced on their LinkedIn page that they are being shut down, effective immediately as of August 31, 2023. They mention that they will provide job assistance to their former employees to “smooth the transition”. They don’t specify what that assistance will entail, but at least they are giving it.
So why is this shutdown now? According to Volition Games: Embracer Group announced a “restructuring” of their company back in June 2023. Apparently, this studio shutdown is part of that “restructuring”. Embracer has apparently decided that they don’t need Volition anymore, and are getting rid of them to save some cash. Thus, we will get no more Volition. They don’t mention what will happen to their video game franchises though. I assume that they are now just going to gather dust.
You can read a transcription of the full text of Volition Games’ announcement below:
The Volition team has proudly created world-class entertainment for fans around the globe for 30 years. We’ve been driven by a passion for our community and always worked to deliver joy, surprise, and delight.
This past June, Embracer Group announced a restructuring program to strengthen Embracer and maintain its position as a leader in the video game industry. As part of that program, they evaluated strategic and operational goals and made the difficult decision to close Volition effective immediately.
To help our team, we are working to provide job assistance and help smooth the transition for our Volition family members. We thank our customers and fans around the world for all the love and support over the years. You will always be in our hearts.
– Volition Games
