Ascendant Studios: the failure of Immortals of Aveum was influenced by the abundance of high-profile releases in 2023
The magical shooter Immortals of Aveum became a commercial failure for Ascendant Studios: because of it, the studio had to cut 45% of its staff. In an interview with Windows Central, Ascendant Studios CEO Bret Robbins attributed the poor sales of the game to the poorly chosen time for release.
According to Robbins, the studio understood that the release window of Immortals of Aveum was full. The shooter was released almost simultaneously with Armored Core VI, and Starfield debuted soon after. However, the big hype around Baldur's Gate 3 came as a surprise to the developers.
"I've never seen a year like this," Robbins said. "It's always difficult for new IP and studios that people haven't heard of before to break through the noise. It was very, very difficult for us to attract attention to ourselves. It has always been difficult for a new IP to do this, and this year it has become ten times more difficult."
Robbins added that Ascendant Studios could not delay the release of Immortals of Aveum. She agreed with her partners to release on a specific date and spent money on marketing.
