Stig Asmussen, the visionary director behind Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and its recently released sequel, Jedi: Survivor, is leaving Electronic Arts and Respawn Entertainment, as per Bloomberg.
This departure comes as a huge surprise, especially after a strong, near-decade-long association with Respawn. Under Asmussen’s leadership, the Star Wars Jedi series garnered both critical acclaim and impressive sales figures.
While Fallen Order set new sales records, becoming the fastest-selling digital launch for a Star Wars game, its successor, Jedi: Survivor, held the high ground, beating its predecessor by a huge margin to top sales charts the month that it was released earlier this year. Despite some performance issues, especially on PC platforms, Jedi: Survivor became one of the year’s best-reviewed titles. Such success stories have become the hallmark of Asmussen’s contributions, not just to EA but to the gaming world at large.
Before his tenure at Respawn, Asmussen was instrumental in the development of the God of War series, during his time at Santa Monica Studio. His work on God of War 3 earned him a prestigious BAFTA for Best Artistic Achievement. The game had him stepping up as the director, a role previously held by Cory Barlog. Given his impressive track record, a departure of someone of Asmussen’s caliber is raising eyebrows, making everyone wonder where he’ll be taking his talents next.
EA’s representative expressed their goodwill towards Asmussen, stating, “After careful thought and consideration, Stig Asmussen has decided to leave Respawn to pursue other adventures, and we wish him the best of luck.” In the wake of his exit, seasoned leaders from Respawn are expected to take over the reins of the ongoing Star Wars Jedi: Survivor project.
This exit has also revived discussions about the future of the Star Wars Jedi series. Asmussen mentioned several times in the past that the games was always planned to be a trilogy. He expressed his interest in exploring new horizons with the main character, Cal, and his crew. His sudden exit, despite such remarks, leaves fans and analysts speculating on what’s next for the series. Will the trilogy’s potential third installment remain true to Asmussen’s vision? Or will the new leadership introduce a fresh perspective? These questions loom large.
Given Asmussen’s past successes, his departure could indeed impact the direction and execution of the series. However, it’s important to note that game development is a collective effort. Hence, many at Respawn, familiar with Asmussen’s vision, could steer the third installment in the intended direction. Regardless, Asmussen’s decision not to delay Jedi: Survivor, even amidst performance challenges, demonstrated his commitment and faith in the product.
Unfortunately, just as Asmussen leaves Respawn and EA, Jedi: Survivor is now in its best state yet. It’s unclear if Jedi: Survivor will get more post-launch content, but by the looks of it, the remaining team members might prefer to focus their efforts on the upcoming last-gen port and the third game.
Despite initial performance challenges at launch, it’s possible that the last-gen versions could perform well, especially considering the successful backports of similarly ambitious projects in the past.
As for Asmussen, his exit has fueled speculation about his potential signing with Netflix. Given the platform’s history of teaming up with notable game developers – the former God of War: Ragnarok art director, Raf Grasseti, and Joe Staten, the co-creator of Halo and Bungie, are both working with Netflix to “bring a new world to life.”
If Netflix can give the aforementioned trio the necessary creative freedom, who knows what kind of sorcery these god-level developers can do when they put their minds to it? Provided, of course, they can work well together.
Ultimately, the best-case scenario here is that Asmussen’s departure is a sign of his confidence in the production of the third Star Wars Jedi game. But, we wouldn’t rule out possible fatigue either. It’s not easy to work on pretty much the same project for nearly a decade and be asked to stay on for a couple more years. Unfortunately, the real reasons remain known only to Asmussen.
Regardless of his reasons for departure or his next venture, fans are eagerly waiting for where Asmussen’s creative genius will take him next.
