- EA launched the single-player shooter Immortals of Aveum on August 23, 2023.
- The game received mixed reviews and was considered a commercial failure.
- It had a budget of $125 million, with the developers claiming single-player shooters are not great for today’s market.
2023 was an incredible year for gaming. In addition to plenty of exciting games, more games began adopting new technology like Unreal Engine 5 and path tracing. One of these games was Immortals of Aveum, a single-player first-person shooter from EA and Ascendant Studios.
However, this game failed to make a name for itself. Following a commercial failure, Ascendant Studios laid off nearly half of the team. A new report reveals that this shooter had a budget of $125 million, making it a huge loss.
Why it matters: Immortals of Aveum was exciting as a showcase of Unreal Engine 5 last year. However, the game failed in this aspect while also struggling to find an audience.
Speaking to IGN, a former Ascendant Studios developer mentioned the budget while also shedding light on why the game was a flop.
Its development cost 85 million, while the studio received an additional 40 million for marketing. Despite combined spending of $125 million, Immortals of Aveum was far from a major release last year.
The developer believes this game’s concept is the reason behind its failure. He states that AAA shooters are not the most appealing for today’s market. The developer also referred to a few of the flaws in this release.
Trying to make a AAA single-player shooter in today’s market was a truly awful idea.
Former Ascendant Studios developer
He added that Immortals of Aveum was a new IP and tried to leverage Unreal Engine 5. However, these ambitions resulted in a campaign that was not interesting and ended up being a repetitive experience.
Another employee had a different outlook on the failure. He described that the game failed not because of the concept but because it failed to reach the right audience. This developer pointed out that Immortals of Aveum did not need around 400 hours to beat.
While these statements hold some validity, the likes of Cyberpunk 2077 and Remnant 2 proved that there was a large market for single-player shooters in 2023.
Phantom Liberty sold over 5 million units, and Remant 2 sold 2 million copies in two months. Both games sold above expectations, proving that the market for these games still exists.
In the past, Ascendant Studios alluded to a busy release schedule as a potential reason for Immortals of Aveum’s failure. These differing opinions suggest the team has not been able to reach an exact conclusion for the results.
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[News Reporter]
Bawal is an MBBS student by day and a gaming journalist by night. He has been gaming since childhood, growing fond of the creativity and innovation of the industry. His career as a gaming journalist started one year ago, and his journey has allowed him to write reviews, previews, and features for various sites. Bawal has also been cited in reputed websites such as Screenrant, PCGamesN, WCCFTech, GamesRadar, and more.
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