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According to the CEO of Ascendant Studios, it was difficult to succeed when competing against games like Baldur's Gate 3.
Image credit: Ascendant Studios, Immortals of Aveum
In a recent interview, Bret Robbins, the CEO of Ascendant Studios, the developer behind Immortals of Aveum, shared his thoughts on the game and the unfortunate time it was launched, pointing out that the game's low sales figures were directly influenced by its release during a packed release schedule.
Robbins stated that the decision to launch the game in such a packed window "100%" contributed to its lackluster reception, with the game facing challenges in finding an audience.
"I've never seen a year like this. It's always hard to break through the noise when you're a new IP or a studio people haven't heard of before. Trying to create awareness for us was really, really difficult. It's always hard for a new IP and this year made it 10 times harder," shared Robbins with Windows Central.
Immortals of Aveum was released on August 22, 2023, amidst the competition from titles like Baldur's Gate 3 and Armored Core 6. According to Robbins, the unexpected success of Baldur's Gate 3, which "no one anticipated" made it difficult for the game to break through. And with the coming release of Starfield, the studio was aware that their game was entering a crowded release window.
Image credit: Ascendant Studios, Immortals of Aveum
The interview also touched upon the studio's response to the game's performance, including the layoffs that followed. For those who haven't heard about the layoffs, in September, the studio downsized almost half of its employees.
"The layoffs really sucked. There's no two ways around that. We are not a big corporation. Our business relies on selling games, and we didn't sell enough games. And that forced me to make that decision, which, it was really unfortunate," said Robbins.
Speaking of Immortals of Aveum being on subscription services like Xbox Game Pass or PlayStation Plus, Robbins shared that the company already started talking with both of these platforms but there are no concrete dates yet. "I'm pretty sure it's going to happen though," he added.
Read the full interview on Windows Central and join our 80 Level Talent platform and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.