Stig Asmussen, the game director of the critically and commercially successful Star Wars Jedi titles, Fallen Order and Survivor has parted ways with Respawn Entertainment, the studio behind the Star Wars Jedi franchise.
Before we continue with news of the day, I’d just like to share that you can support my work in two ways for which I’d be extremely grateful. Firstly it’s via my newly created Patreon page which has a two tier’s at this time – one to simply to support my work and a second which features ad-free articles. Secondly you can tip me with a simple one off payment on my Ko-Fi page or you can choose to support my work monthly on the platform. I’d truly appreciate it if you decided to support my work, but no pressure, I know things are pretty tough out here. Anyway, back to the reason you came here – the news!
Last night Bloomberg broke that Asmussen had left Respawn Entertainment after careful consideration to pursue new endeavours. At this time, Electronic Arts, the parent company of Respawn, have commented on the game directors exit, but Asmussen himself has yet to share any comments publicly. EA shared the following statement;
“After careful thought and consideration, Stig Asmussen has decided to leave Respawn to pursue other adventures, and we wish him the best of luck. Veteran Respawn leaders will be stepping up to guide the team as they continue their work on Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.” – EA
It’s unclear at the moment what Stig Asmussen’s new adventure will be, and why he’s decided to leave behind the the studio he’s been at for near ten years. Stig was the mastermind behind the Star Wars Jedi games, acting as the game director of both Fallen Order and Survivor, writing on both titles in addition and envisioned the Star Wars Jedi franchise and the story of Cal Kestis as a trilogy, but it seems that Asmussen will not be around for the final part of the Jedi trilogy, the video game series he was a fundamental part of.
As of this time, a third entry in the Star Wars Jedi franchise has not been announced, but video games journalist and industry insider, Jeff Grubb, recently shared that Respawn Entertainment had started working on the final entry of the Jedi trilogy. In addition to Grubb’s comments, we’ve also seen hints at development on a third Star Wars Jedi game being in development thanks to various job listings. One listing for a senior combat designer appears to be for the untitled Star Wars Jedi: Survivor follow-up and most of the listings require the applicants to have experience with Unreal Engine 4, the engine Survivor was made with, and Unreal Engine 5, the latter being the engine Stig Asmussen previously revealed would be used for the third Jedi release. However it’s worth noting that the untitled FPS game they’re working on also has these requirements. The line that stands out and points towards this particular job opportunity is for the Survivor sequel is, “a passion for melee combat games is a major plus.” In addition to the listing on EA’s website, another has appeared on LinkedIn seeking out a Principal Game Writer specifically for the Star Wars Jedi franchise. Granted a principal writer for an unnamed Star Wars Jedi project could be for a DLC and not simply a sequel, but what what Grubb has shared and from what I have heard personally, a Survivor sequel is currently in extremely early development.
One line in EA’s statement that’s likely caught fans eyes is, “Veteran Respawn leaders will be stepping up to guide the team as they continue their work on Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.” I’m sure some have taken this as a nod towards noteworthy DLC for Survivor, however that could be a possibility, I’m personally taking the line as work on future patches and for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of Survivor that are currently in development.
Undoubtedly, Stig Asmussen’s departure from Respawn and his lack of involvement in the third entry of the Star Wars Jedi trilogy is a real blow for fans of Fallen Order and Survivors. It’ll be interesting to see who steps up in the wake of Asmussen’s absence, though the third Jedi entry is still likely a handful of years away (I personally don’t expect to see it until 2027). However I wish Asmussen all the best on his new adventure and I can’t wait to see what the next step in Asmussen’s journey brings us.
Thank you for reading the article and if you enjoyed your read, or if you’re a regular reader of Bespin Bulletin then I kindly ask if you’d consider showing your support and appreciation by tipping me via my Ko-Fi page here, each tip is deeply appreciated or supporting my work via my newly launched Patreon page here. You can also listen to the latest episode of our podcast, BOB The Podcast, at the bottom of this page and on all good podcast services (new episodes release on Thursdays), where you can also sign up to a mailing list to receive and email each time I publish a new article and you if you’re not already doing so, follow me on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Threads, Hive, and Mastodon.
