The Saints Row developer, Volition, has been moved from Deep Silver to Gearbox Entertainment following the game’s poor reception. The aim of the internal transfer, the first for parent company Embracer Group, is to use the expertise of Gearbox to “create future success at Volition” both with Saints Row and future games.
Saints Row will be moved to Gearbox
Moving forward, the Saints Row developer will be moved from its current role as a Deep Silver studio to a new role within Gearbox Entertainment’s group. This is because Gearbox “has all the tools, including an experienced management team in the US, to create future success at Volition.” This will include future DLC, such as that included within the game’s Expansion Pass, as well as future games from the studio.
Saints Row was released in August to a polarizing reception, something with which Embracer’s CEO Lars Wingefors was not happy. Volition has since been “working hard to improve the player experience” with updates and free DLC, including the Bright Future update that included more than 200 bug fixes and gameplay improvements like PS5 Haptic Feedback. Despite this, the game has not met “the full expectations” of the management team, Embracer said in their latest earnings report.