Stig Asmussen, the director of the Star Wars Jedi series and God of War 3, has left Respawn Entertainment and EA to establish his own independent game studio called Giant Skull. Asmussen’s new studio focuses on developing high-quality, big-budget, single-player action-adventure games with strong narratives set in captivating worlds. That’s a tall order and takes a lot of money, but he seems confident.
Giant Skull is located in the Los Angeles area and currently has about 30 employees. Many of those employees have experience working on Star Wars Jedi and Fortnite. The studio offers flexible work options, allowing developers to choose between remote, in-office, or hybrid working based on their needs. Asmussen has mentioned that the company is well-funded and is open to considering partnerships with major publishers in the future.
“The main goal is to build an environment where people can come and collaborate and make something that’s going to ship. It’s up to the individual. We’ll support whatever you need. We can approach people on an individual basis. If you want to work from home all the time in another part of the world, totally fine. We’ve learned how to make that operation work at a really high level [on Jedi Survivor]. If you want to come into the office every day, we’ve got a great space in a great location. If you want to come in [some days each week] for hybrid, it’s up to you. We don’t care. The most important thing is you have all the tools you need to get the job done.”
Stig Asmussen
While Asmussen is well-known for creating licensed games, Giant Skull’s first game might be an original intellectual property. According to an interview with IGN, you can find it on the studio’s website. It has a unique command-based interface that gives a peek into its creative style and philosophy.
I’ve tried to navigate my way through the website, but it’s really complicated and frustrating. If you type in About us, it says, “I create. You create. We create. All experience. Through action not words.” Honestly I did not enjoy the experience at all, I just wanted to learn about the studio and got that. Thumbs down. Overall, it’s pretty cool to see a team with this much experience start making games. We hope it works out and to hear about what comes first soon.
Comments