Stig Asmussen, the director of Respawn’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Jedi: Survivor, has announced the creation of a new studio called Giant Skull, which is creating a AAA narrative-driven, third-person, single-player action-adventure game.
Asmussen spoke to IGN about the creation of the studio and its goals, where he gave some context for his exit from Respawn and EA last year after completing Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
“I was very happy at Respawn. Love the team, love the studio, EA was great,” he said. “It was more just, I was approached with a really interesting opportunity. It started to be like a little kernel in my brain: ‘Wow, what would it be like to start my own studio?’ …It was something that was incredibly enticing.”
Asmussen said that the studio will be focusing on mystery and intrigue as a core aspect of its new game, ideals that are reflected in the studio’s website, which features various cryptic lines of code and hidden Easter eggs.
“We want our players to have a certain degree of autonomy and ownership in the game and agency as they’re playing it,” he said. “We want to make a game that has a momentum to it that you want to keep on playing it. And we respect our players. We wanna create real authentic worlds that don’t feel random; they feel like there’s a rich history. And [that] there’s thought behind them.”
The studio employs around 30 people, many of whom are former Respawn and Epic Games employees. Among the most notable names are Jon Carr, the technical director for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor; Patrick Murphy, an art director who worked on Fortnite, Valorant, League of Legends, and God of War; Lauren McLemore, a lead producer on Fortnite; Jeff Magers, the design director for the Star Wars Jedi games; and Brian Campbell, a former animation director at Epic Games.
It is currently up in the air as to whether the studio will remain fully independent or pair with a major publisher, according to Asmussen. He said that he wants to play to the strengths established in the Star Wars Jedi games, but it could come in the form of an original IP or a licensed tie-in.
This news comes only a few weeks after EA laid off significant portion of its staff, canceling Respawn’s planned Mandalorian-based first-person shooter in the process. In an industry filled with layoffs, it is a major win for a studio to be controlled by the developers.
“We have assembled a talented team renowned for immersive storytelling, heroic combat and exhilarating traversal, and our goal is to craft a rich universe that players will want to lose themselves in for years to come,” Asmussen said.