Stig Asmussen, a veteran video game director behind some of the most successful franchises in the gaming industry, is leaving Electronic Arts Inc. Asmussen joined Respawn Entertainment, a subsidiary of EA, in April 2014, shortly after leaving Santa Monica Studios.
During his time at Respawn, Stig Asmussen oversaw the release of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order in 2019 and the sequel Star Wars Jedi: Survivor which was released in April 2023. Fallen Order was a huge success and attracted over 20 million players. Survivor has topped a lot of charts since its release.
“After careful thought and consideration, Stig Asmussen has decided to leave Respawn to pursue other adventures, and we wish him the best of luck,” said an EA spokesperson in a statement.
The Star Wars game was planned to be a trilogy. Last year, EA announced that there will be three more Star Wars games, including Survivor. The immediate concern of fans of the franchise after the announcement of Stig Asmussen’s departure was what would happen to the other Star Wars games in the pipeline. Well, that question was answered by the EA spokesperson.
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“Veteran Respawn leaders will be stepping up to guide the team as they continue their work on Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.”
EA Spokesperson
Fallen Order and Survivor are hailed as an impressive comeback to EA’s shaky Star Wars video game franchise. The success of both games has helped to push Respawn to become one of the top EA studios.
According to Games Industry report, the next title is a first-person shooter directed by Peter Hirschmann. That would be closely followed by a strategy game developed by Bit Reactor and produced by Respawn.
How I fell in love with Stig Asmussen’s work
When I was an undergraduate, I had a friend who loved playing video games. One day, he invited me to a local game hub where people pay for playing time. That was where I first encountered God of War III and saw first-hand the fierce wrath of Kratos—who has now become less vicious and arrogant.
I was blown away by the art and smooth gameplay of God of War III that I was eager to know more about everyone behind the production that was how I got to know about Santa Monica studios. One name that stood out in the studio at that time was Stig Asmussen who worked as the art artist, lead environment artist, and game director of God of War III.
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My love for the God of War franchise to date was hugely influenced by Stig Asmussen’s contribution to the franchise—and I will always be grateful to him for that. Inasmuch as his departure from Respawn will be hugely missed, it is highly unlikely that it will affect the gaming experience of the next Star Wars game.
Although the details about his departure from Respawn were not made public, I want to believe it was mutual. There was a lot of talk about the record time it took to make Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and how that may have contributed to its buggy start and birthed a bitter feeling among the developers.
Perhaps, Asmussen wants to build a reputation as the art director who revives a dying franchise or repositions any RPG into a fan favorite. What I do know is that I will be on the lookout to see the next studio he will join. Who knows, he may decide to start his own studio.
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