Saints Row and Red Faction developer Volition has been shut down

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Volition, the studio behind well-known gaming franchises like Saints Row and Red Faction has gone through a full studio closure. The surprising announcement was made today following multiple reports by developers from the studio regarding a shutdown, with parent company Embracer Group making the decision.

Posted on its official LinkedIn page, Volition's announcement states:

"The Volition team has proudly created world-class entertainment for fans around the globe for 30 years. We've been driven by passion for our community and always worked to deliver joy, surprise, and delight.

This past June, Embracer Group announced a restructuring program to strengthen Embracer and maintain its position as a leader in the video game industry. As part of that program, they evaluated strategic and operational goals and made the difficult decision to close Volition effective immediately".​

Founded in 1993, Volition has delivered a number of high-profile games in its 30 year run in the industry. This includes 2001's Red Faction, the beginning of the Saints Row series in 2006, and their numerous sequels under THQ . The studio has been under Embracer Group's wing since 2018.

"To help our team, we are working to provide job assistance and help smooth the transition for our Volition family members. We thank our customers and fans around the world for all the love and support over the years. You will always be in our hearts," adds Volition Games in its final farewell.

The studio's most recent project was a complete reboot of Saints Row for consoles and PC, which aimed at modernizing the humorous action series for newer audiences with a new setting, characters, and storyline. However, the title suffered a poor reception from critics and fans. Embracer has not revealed official sales numbers for the open-world entry, but it did say that the game did not meet sales expectations.