Activision announced an all-new internal studio, “Elsewhere Entertainment,” based in Warsaw, Poland, today. The studio will focus on creating “narrative-driven” and “genre-defining” AAA franchises. This announcement comes only a week after Activision’s parent company, Microsoft, announced the closures of Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin, the studios behind Hi-Fi Rush and Redfall.
Activision describes “Elsewhere Entertainment,” as a studio dedicated to establishing an environment that inspires “bold and diverse ideas” with an underlying mission to “explore and collaborate creatively to craft a franchise with an enduring legacy that resonates far beyond games.” The studio has employed “expert storytellers” who have worked on the stories of games such as The Last of Us, The Witcher, Uncharted, and Cyberpunk, as well as storytellers behind games such as Destiny, The Division, and Far Cry. Currently, the studio is looking to use its talent to create a narrative-based IP for Activision that will deliver a next-gen gaming experience.
The Elsewhere announcement is odd timing to say the least
The new studio’s announcement comes a little over a week after Microsoft suddenly and unexpectedly shut down Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin, the developers behind Hi-Fi Rush and Redfall. Both studios were said to have been pitching new games to Microsoft just before being shut down. Users on X seem to have had mixed reactions to the announcement of the new studio. Some expressed optimism for the new studio and its plans despite all of the recent shutdowns and layoffs that the industry has been facing. Others, however, haven’t seemed so happy with the announcement, blaming the creation of the studio and Microsoft for the recent closures at Xbox Game Studios. While Activision and Zenimax do work independently of each other, they still exist under the same Microsoft umbrella now.
Aside from an announcement on the Activision blog, little else is known about Elsewhere Entertainment or any of their current plans. The studio is not active on social media websites and it is unknown when we can expect to see their first game in development.