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Giant Skull

At a time when many game studios are laying off staff and others are shutting down, it’s always welcome to see a new one run by talented veterans opening up. The latest notable studio to open its doors is Giant Skull. It’s led by Stig Asmussen, most recently of Respawn Entertainment and EA.

Asmussen directed Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and its sequel, Jedi: Survivor. Before that, he worked at Sony’s Santa Monica Studio on the God Of War series. He was the game director of God of War III and the art director on God of War II. With that kind of track record, it should come as little surprise that Giant Skull will focus on “gameplay-driven, story immersed action-adventure games set in captivating worlds.” That sounds right up my alley.

Giant Skull’s headquarters is in Los Angeles, though it will employ developers remotely from around the world. That could be an attractive option for those who have been laid off over the last year and are unable to relocate.

Asmussen is Giant Skull’s CEO. The leadership team includes CTO Jon Carr (Star Wars Jedi: Survivor), art director Patrick Murphy (Fortnite), lead producer Lauren McLemore (Fortnite), design director Jeff Magers (Star Wars Jedi: Survivor), animation director Brian Campbell (Fortnite) and COO/CFO Anthony Scott (Unbroken Studios).

The team’s already working on its first project, a AAA single-player focused action-adventure built in Unreal Engine 5. As it happens, I’m making my way through Jedi: Fallen Order for the first time while juggling other games. I’m enjoying it quite a bit, so I’m interested to find out what Asmussen and Giant Skull are cooking up.

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