Following a delay, the Saints Row series finally received a long-awaited reboot in August this year, giving fans a chance to try and relive the crazy antics they got up to in beloved titles like Saints Row: The Third.
However, the game received mixed reviews, with many either concluding that developer Volition had failed to recapture the magic of the previous games, or having their experience marred by a range of bugs and glitches.
This reception might have factored into a restructuring decision the game’s publisher, Embracer Group has just announced, which will see Volition gradually become a part of Gearbox Entertainment going forwards, as spotted by Axios’ Stephen Totilo.
What do you think this change might mean for the future of the Saints Row series?
Announced via Embracer’s Q2 interim financial report, which covers the time period from July to September this year, the move is seemingly categorised by the publisher as a part of continuing efforts to develop its “decentralised operating model.”
“Going forward, Volition will transition to become part of Gearbox which has all the tools, including an experienced management team in the US, to create future success at Volition,” writes Embracer Group CEO Lars Wingefors of the move, adding: “This is the first internal group transfer where we transfer a major studio between operative groups, but it is not necessarily the last.”
Wingefors also discusses the performance of the Saints Row reboot, saying that while its reception “did not meet the full expectations and left the fanbase partially polarized,” it “has performed in line with management expectations” from a financial perspective.
The longform version of the report puts a number on this financial success, saying: “As of mid-October, the game had been played by over one million players,” and adding that it is currently expected to deliver a “positive” return on investment.
The other big news to come out of the report concerns Dead Island 2, which has had its release pushed back from February 3, 2023 to April 28, 2023, with an announcement from the game’s Twitter account emphasising: “The delay is just 12 short weeks and development is on the final straight now.”
Regardless of how you feel about the changes and delays, make sure to follow us for more coverage of the Saints Row series and similarly anarchic games like GTA Online.