Embracer Group Shuts Down Volition Games After Disastrous ‘Saints Row’ Reboot
John F. Trent
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Volition Games announced they are being shuttered by Embracer Group following the company’s disastrous Saints Row reboot.
Source: Saints Row (2022), Volition
Embracer Group previously announced significant restructuring would occur across its portfolio back in June.
The company’s CEO Lars Wingefors noted at the time the restructuring would “include, but not be limited to, closing or divestments of some studios and the termination or pausing of some ongoing game development projects.”
He continued, “It will also include decreased spending on non-development costs such as overhead and other operating expenses. We will reduce third party publishing and put greater focus on internal IP and increase external funding of large-budget games.”
Saints Row (2022), Volition
In a post to LinkedIn, Volition announced they were one of the studios to be permanently terminated. It reads, “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,” the company announced.
The post concluded, “To help our team, we are working to provide job assistance and help smooth the transition of 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 LinkedIn
The closure comes after the company’s most recent release, Saints Row, was widely panned by players. The game fully embraced woke transgender ideology by removing male and female gender options. Instead they replaced it with multiple sliders in character creation allowing players to manipulate the size of their character’s groin and chest.
Not only did they embrace woke transgender ideology in the character creator, but Volition Development Director Jim Boone also implied the game was being made for modern sensibilities.
He told PC Gamer in August 2021, “We love [the old Saints Row games], but we also recognize those are games of a time. They made sense within that era, and we were able to do things that felt good back then. But that tone is not something that we feel like we want to do today. We had a different kind of story that we wanted to tell.”
Saints Row (2022), Volition
The development staff also derided potential players for disliking a number of changes the game was making.
In one instance, Twitter user Gavinator6429 wrote, “I know you wont listen, but if you want fans to stop complaining and giving yall s–t, maybe, just maybe, replace these clowns and give us the real saints (doesnt even have to be the old crew just real gangsters. That would honestly clear up a lot of the hate you guys are getting.”
Gavinator6429 Twitter
Saints Row responded with a gif reading “Haters Gonna Hate.”
Saints Row Twitter
In response, Gavinator6429 replied, “If anything I’m not a hater, I’ve been defending you guys since people called you a ‘GTA Clone’ which wasn’t true at all. Now I feel like I wasted my time defending you guys. As the boss once said ‘The Saints use to mean somethin, only mf that seem to rememba that is me and Gat.'”
Gavinator6429 Twitter
Saints Row responded, “We are not backing down on this game. We get it, it’s new and it’s a shock reaction to a reboot like no other. The gif was supposed to convey that.”
Saints Row Twitter
Upon release, the game was relentlessly mocked and described as “the worst game of 2022.”
MichaelDoesLife tweeted, “New Saints Row is an ABOMINATION and will go down as the WORST game of 2022. 3/10.”
He then listed out a number of problems with the game, “NPCs barely react to anything the player does, WORSE AI than Cyberpunk, NO cheat codes, LAZY VA performances, NOTHING to do within the world unless it’s marked on the map.”
New Saints Row is an ABOMINATION and will go down as the WORST game of 2022. 3/10.
✅NPCs barely react to anything the player does
✅WORSE AI than Cyberpunk
✅NO cheat codes
✅LAZY VA performances
✅NOTHING to do within the world unless it’s marked on the map pic.twitter.com/BjXKX2DWfm— Michael Does Life (@MichaelDoesLife) August 20, 2022
Cyael encouraged people to not purchase the game writing, “100+ Bugs join the Saints Row SEA of Red Flags. This dated, janky, soulless, mess asks $60 for cancelled CW show writing, CHEAP VA, Royalty Free Music, & Boneheaded Bullet-Sponge A.I. – #SaintsRow Devs : ‘We are not backing down’. on this Husk?? lol.”
100+ Bugs join the Saints Row SEA of Red Flags. This dated, janky, soulless, mess asks $60 for cancelled CW show writing, CHEAP VA, Royalty Free Music, & Boneheaded Bullet-Sponge A.I. – #SaintsRow Devs : “We are not backing down”. on this Husk?? lol 1/2 pic.twitter.com/l875W4TxnF
— Cyael (@Cyael) August 22, 2022
The game’s sales would crater in the United Kingdom just a week after release with Games Industry reporting “Saints Row saw an 80% drop in sales compared to last week and falls to No. 6”
Wingefor would recognize that the game was not being received well by fans commenting on the game during the company’s Annual General Meeting in 2022.
He said, “Obviously, personally I had… hoped for a greater reception of the game. It’s been a very polarized view, there is a lot of things that could be said in details around it, but on one hand, I’m happy to see a lot of gamers and fans happy. At the same time, I’m a bit sad to see also fans not happy, so it’s difficult.”
Wingefors did admit that the game would probably have a return on investment, but not to what they were hoping, “On the financial side, I know, or I’m confident we will make money. On the investment. Will it have as great return of investment that we have seen in many other games? Not very likely. But we will make money, and that’s a very good starting point, at least.”
Saints Row (2022), Deep Silver
YouTuber Vara Dark reacted to the news that Embracer Group was shutting down Volition saying, “I can’t really feel that bad for them after they disregarded what fans wanted and antagonized us. I mean their community manager called us terrorists for criticizing their half-assed product.”
What do you make of Volition Games getting shut down?
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