Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order director Stig Asmussen is leaving Respawn and EA. The Star Wars franchise is renowned across film, literature, television, and of course, gaming. Star Wars has had a major impact on gaming since the 90s, if not much earlier, with the Jedi Academy games, Battlefront, Knights of the Old Republic, and many, many more. However, things took a bit of a turn in the 2010s when Disney acquired the franchise and licensed the gaming rights out to EA. The publisher put out some middling and even controversial Battlefront games (the second one later grew to be a fan-favorite after updates) and would go on to cancel some of its most promising single-player Star Wars games. Thankfully, one project made it to the finish line and showed what was possible. Jedi: Fallen Order was a huge commercial and critical hit, allowing EA to create an even more ambitious sequel that was met with an even fonder reception.

After the intense love for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor earlier this year, it was assumed Respawn's team would be full steam ahead on a threequel and while that may be the case, it will be without one of its key figures. Director Stig Asmussen who directed the first two Star Wars Jedi games and God of War 3 will not be joining the team for the third game. As reported by Bloomberg, Asmussen is leaving EA and Respawn. It's unclear what prompted this departure and what Asmussen's future in the industry looks like. It's possible he was drawn to another project at a different studio and couldn't resist, but we really have no idea. Other Respawn employees will be leading the charge on the future.

"After careful thought and consideration, Stig Asmussen has decided to leave Respawn to pursue other adventures, and we wish him the best of luck," said an EA spokesperson in a statement to Bloomberg. "Veteran Respawn leaders will be stepping up to guide the team as they continue their work on Star Wars Jedi: Survivor."

Will There Be a Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Sequel?
What's particularly interesting about this news is that Asmussen had gone on record about envisioning the Star Wars Jedi franchise as a trilogy. With said trilogy having been halfway completed, it does leave one to wonder how much that vision will change with new leaders at the helm. Of course, games aren't made by one person, so it's likely there are other people beyond Stig Asmussen who are aware of the direction the series is headed, but new leaders could prompt changes in design philosophy or story direction. Either way, a third game can be expected in the coming years. Asmussen made key, high level decisions such as opting not to delay Jedi: Survivor for a longer period, despite some issues with performance.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor on Xbox One and PS4
Earlier this summer, well after the launch of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, it was confirmed EA is bringing the game to Xbox One and PS4. This was pretty surprising as the game is pretty big in scope and scale, but there is a massive player base on those old consoles and EA likely wants to capitalize on it. As of right now, we don't know when it will release, but it can't be terribly far off.



Posted: Sep 16, 2023 10:10 pm
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/star-wars-jedi-survivor-director-stig-asmussen-leaving-respawn-ea/