[STEAM] Embracer Studio Was Working on a Brand New Red Faction Game Before Layoffs

[Steam 0]

A Red Faction sequel was in the works at the Embracer-owned developer of Galaxy On ***** and Chorus before it was hit by layoffs, according to a new report.

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reported that Fishlabs, bought by controversial video game group Embracer in 2018, was working on a sci-fi Metroidvania and had built a “visual prototype” for a brand new Red Faction game before both projects were canceled and their developers ***** off in 2023.

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, by the time Fishlabs put together its Red Faction pitch. According to RPS, a team at Fishlabs built a “fake trailer” with Unreal Engine 5 to present to Embracer-owned publisher Plaion, with the hope of creating a game similar to 2009’s well-received

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.

Critics praised that game for its huge open world and, in particular, impressive destruction-based gameplay that saw players smash up buildings with a sledgehammer. A sequel,

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, followed in 2011, but sales were poor and then-publisher THQ canceled further follow-ups.

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, a remaster of Guerrilla, launched in 2019.

Unfortunately, despite the pitches to Plaion, this new Red Faction was not greenlit, and in November last year it was canceled outright. According to RPS, Fishlabs studio leadership were told to lay off almost everyone not attached to an active game project, resulting in 50 job losses. The

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is well worth a read if you want some insight into what it was like working at an Embracer-owned studio in 2023.

In April,

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: Asmodee Group, Coffee Stain & Friends, and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends. The move came after a brutal ******* of restructuring that over a thousand staff lose their jobs, multiple games canceled and studios shut down, and the ***** of developers including

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and

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Embracer Group’s financial struggles began following the collapse of a $2 billion deal, reportedly with Saudi government funded company

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. The Swedish firm has since come under ***** for the sweeping cuts that followed its ill-fated acquisition spree. In January it emerged that

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that was two years in development and ***** off some staff at Eidos Montreal. Most recently,

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Wesley is the *** News Editor for IGN. Find him on

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at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at *****@*****.tld.

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