A Red Faction sequel was within the works on the Embracer-owned developer of Galaxy On Hearth and Refrain earlier than it was hit by layoffs, in keeping with a new report.
Rock, Paper Shotgun reported that Fishlabs, purchased by controversial online game group Embracer in 2018, was working on a sci-fi Metroidvania and had constructed a “visible prototype” for a model new Red Faction sport earlier than each tasks had been canceled and their builders laid off in 2023.
Embracer had already shut down the unique creator of the cult traditional Red Faction, Volition, by the point Fishlabs put collectively its Red Faction pitch. In accordance with RPS, a staff at Fishlabs constructed a “pretend trailer” with Unreal Engine 5 to current to Embracer-owned writer Plaion, with the hope of making a sport much like 2009’s well-received Red Faction: Guerrilla.
Critics praised that sport for its large open world and, specifically, spectacular destruction-based gameplay that noticed gamers smash up buildings with a sledgehammer. A sequel, Red Faction: Armageddon, adopted in 2011, however gross sales had been poor and then-publisher THQ canceled additional follow-ups. Red Faction: Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered, a remaster of Guerrilla, launched in 2019.
Sadly, regardless of the pitches to Plaion, this new Red Faction was not greenlit, and in November final 12 months it was canceled outright. In accordance with RPS, Fishlabs studio management had been informed to put off virtually everybody not connected to an energetic sport challenge, leading to 50 job losses. The RPS article is properly price a learn in order for you some perception into what it was like working at an Embracer-owned studio in 2023.
In April, Embracer introduced its intent to separate into three separate corporations: Asmodee Group, Espresso Stain & Buddies, and Center-earth Enterprises & Buddies. The transfer got here after a brutal interval of restructuring that over a thousand workers lose their jobs, a number of video games canceled and studios shut down, and the sale of builders together with Borderlands maker Gearbox and Star Wars Knights of the Outdated Republic remake maker Saber Interactive.
Embracer Group’s monetary struggles started following the collapse of a $2 billion deal, reportedly with Saudi authorities funded firm Savvy Video games Group. The Swedish agency has since come below hearth for the sweeping cuts that adopted its ill-fated acquisition spree. In January it emerged that Embracer had canceled a new Deus Ex sport that was two years in improvement and laid off some workers at Eidos Montreal. Most not too long ago, Embracer shut down Items Interactive after the Alone within the Darkish reboot flopped.
Wesley is the UK Information Editor for IGN. Discover him on Twitter at @wyp100. You may attain Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.