Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Jedi: Survivor director Stig Asmussen is leaving Electronic Arts, Bloomberg reports.
“After careful thought and consideration, Stig Asmussen has decided to leave Respawn to pursue other adventures, and we wish him the best of luck,” an EA spokesperson said. “Veteran Respawn leaders will be stepping up to guide the team as they continue their work on Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.”
Asmussen has been a director at Respawn Entertainment since 14. Before that he worked at Sony Interactive Entertainment, where he worked primarily on the God of War series, including helming God of War III. Asmussen has not disclosed his next destination.
The Star Wars: Jedi series has been a notable success story for EA, making it something of an exception to the company’s overall experience with the franchise. When EA first revealed Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order back in 2018, the company was coming off Battlefront 2, which had proven hugely controversial owing to its implementation of loot boxes.
While criticized for its bugs, Fallen Order proved to be successful for EA, and Survivor further established the series. Asmussen has previously said that he wanted to make Star Wars: Jedi into a trilogy, making his sudden departure all the more surprising.
Asmussen’s departure comes amid an uncertain period for EA, with Respawn among the studios being split into a separate EA Entertainment group. BioWare has been among the studios most affected by the change, having experienced harsh layoffs in the midst of Dragon Age: Dreadwolf’s development.
Asmussen leaves EA on a high note, with our Jedi Survivor review praising his team’s efforts.
“It’s a sequel that does virtually everything better than the original – which was already an exceptional Star Wars game,” we wrote. “If Respawn makes one more like this it’ll complete the best Star Wars trilogy in 30 years, hands down.”
Whether that happens is now an open question.
Thumbnail image credit: Barry Brecheisen/Getty Images
Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
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