Humanoid Origin Game Studio From Mass Effect Creator Shutters Doors after Just 3 Years

[Cpt.Jank]

Humanoid Origin, a game studio started and lead by former Mass Effect creator, Casey Hudson, has just announced that it will be shutting down just 3 years after its creation. The main driving factor behind the closure of Humanoid Origin is a lack of funding, with the announcement coming from a LinkedIn post on Monday, November 25. In the announcement, Hudson places some of the blame on the "broader challenges in the industry" and says that the studio's main goal right now is to support its employees in the transition to new projects.

The fledgling game studio was unable to launch its first project, which was to be an ambitious, large-scale AAA sci-fi game for which it had aggressively been hiring creative talent since the company's 2021 start. This is just the latest studio casualty in what has been a brutal year for the gaming industry as a whole. Earlier this year, studios owned by much larger corporations with deeper pockets also saw similar closures, like the somewhat mysterious shuttering of the Humble Games publishing division, which was later clarified as "restructuring."



The LinkedIn post reads:

Earlier today, we informed our staff that Humanoid Origin will be shutting down. Despite efforts to shield the studio from broader challenges in the industry, an unexpected shortfall of funding left us unable to sustain operations.

We're heartbroken that we will not be able to bring our new science-fiction universe to completion. Our main concern at this time however is for our team, and we are committed to supporting them in their transition to new employment.

In our time together, the team achieved incredible progress, and demonstrated that it's possible to do amazing work while fostering a culture of fun and creativity. We thank them for their talent, courage, and friendship.

Thank you to everyone who supported us throughout our journey.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[OSdevr]

Wait, Casey's not even with Bioware anymore? Considering he didn't direct Andromeda either this doesn't bode well for ME4.

 

[Space Lynx]

I was looking forward to this one, that's a shame.

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

Wait, Casey's not even with Bioware anymore? Considering he didn't direct Andromeda either this doesn't bode well for ME4.

Casey's not been with bioware for a long time. Bioware is a shambling corpse, none of the original crew are left.

 

[OSdevr]

Casey's not been with bioware for a long time. Bioware is a shambling corpse, none of the original crew are left.

That explains a lot.

 

[Redwoodz]

You can thank AI and frame generation for this. Why pay people when you can create a clone for free?

 

[Frick]

I know I'm in the minority here but I never understood why people love Mass Effect so much, so I think this is good because not all ideas are good or deserve funding.

 

[JustBenching]

I know I'm in the minority here but I never understood why people love Mass Effect so much, so I think this is good because not all ideas are good or deserve funding.

The first trilogy (especially the first 2) were actually great games.

 

[TechLurker]

Given the spate of triple-A busts, I'm not surprised that investors have become risk-adverse. I wonder if starting a Kickstarter or Fig crowdfunding attempt to gauge interest would have been a better plan, as well as starting by aiming for the middle than aiming for AAA off the bat.

 

[Vayra86]

I know I'm in the minority here but I never understood why people love Mass Effect so much, so I think this is good because not all ideas are good or deserve funding.

Its happens surprisingly not often that big names in the industry keep making big successful games when they start on their own.

It happens far more often that they fail miserably and never reach their initial success. They also tend to work within an entirely different team. Bar a few exceptions, I don't attribute a game's success to one person, I think its brutally unfair, and history also shows: the team effort is what makes things a success. Games are far too big to be carried by one person - except when they're called Hideo Kojima or something. Even Larian for example, I think they are great at what they do because the team is great. Not just its CEO, you can almost feel it too when they guy gives an interview. There's a shared sense of duty and vision.

A team also contains the right actors to keep things in check. Look at Star Citizen and its scope creep. That CEO clearly would benefit from a project manager keeping him grounded, but alas, and as a result, the game might never reach 1.0. OTOH, he did 1.0 release Freelancer, because he was forced to.