One of Activision's newest development teams, Elsewhere Entertainment, is continuing to hire and seems to be expanding to a new region, suggesting the team's mysterious project may be ramping up.

Elsewhere is making an "all-new franchise" that is a "narrative-based IP," but there continue to be no other details available as of yet. But now, Elsewhere is hiring for jobs based in Malmo, Sweden, which is noteworthy because previously the studio was only known to have a presence in Warsaw, Poland.

Malmo is also home to Just Cause studio Avalanche and Star Wars Outlaws developer Massive. Hitman developer IO Interactive also has an office in the Swedish city.

Elsewhere is actively hiring for a variety of roles currently across a number of disciplines, though the jobs ads don't give much away. It sounds like it's early days for this new Activision game, and there is no word yet on a release window or platforms, including whether or not it will be exclusive on console to Xbox given Activision's stance as a Microsoft-owned company.

As we reported previously, GameSpot understands Elsewhere's first game will not be a new Call of Duty project and that the team has been working quietly on the game for some time.

Activision investing in a non-sequel or franchise extension is a big move, as the company has in recent years tripled down on Call of Duty. Elsewhere is staffed by people who worked on The Last of Us, Uncharted, The Witcher, Cyberpunk, Destiny, The Division, and Far Cry.

Activision has expanded beyond established franchises before, but it hasn't published a new, original IP since Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice in 2019. Prior to that, Activision published Bungie's Destiny series before Bungie took the franchise back and split off from Activision (and was later acquired by Sony).

Elsewhere is Activision's second studio in Poland, joining the Infinity Ward team in Krakow. Resources from Activision's US teams are working with Elsewhere.

As for the Call of Duty series, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is coming this October. Its second weekend of public beta testing just wrapped up, giving fans a first taste of the multiplayer shooter.

Posted: Sep 12, 2024 9:21 pm
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/activisions-secret-studio-making-a-new-ip-seems-to-be-ramping-up/1100-6526369/