Respawn Entertainment has just lost an experienced leader. Stig Asmussen, known as the game director of the Star Wars Jedi series, has decided to leave the company.
Stig Asmussen (Image credit: IGN)
What happened?
- Bloomberg broke the news on September 13, citing an Electronic Arts spokesperson who commented on Asmussen’s departure.
- “After careful thought and consideration, Stig Asmussen has decided to leave Respawn to pursue other adventures, and we wish him the best of luck,” a statement reads. “Veteran Respawn leaders will be stepping up to guide the team as they continue their work on Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.”
- It is unclear what Asmussen plans to do next, but this marks an end to his nearly 10-year journey at Respawn Entertainment.
Who is Stig Asmussen?
- Asmussen has been in the games industry for almost 25 years. He started his career path in July 1999 when he joined Midway Games as a 3D artist. The first title he was credited on was arcade hack’n’slash game Gauntlet: Dark Legacy.
- After that, Asmussen served as a lead environment artist on platformer Dr. Muto before leaving Midway to join Santa Monica Studio in March 2003.
- He worked there for 10 years, contributing to the original God of War trilogy. According to MobyGames, Asmussen started as a lead environment artist on the first God of War, and then became art director on God of War II and Chain of Olympus.
- After Cory Barlog, who initially led God of War III, left the project, Asmussen took over as game director and helped finalize the vision and ship the game.
- Asmussen joined Respawn Entertainment in April 2014 to work on the then-secret third-person action title. It was at a time when the studio was still independent and had just released its debut game, Titanfall.
- Two years later, it was revealed that he was directing Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Following the commercial success of the game, he aslo led its sequel, Jedi Survivor, which came out earlier this year and exceeded EA’s financial expectations.