Wizards of the Coast Cancels Unannounced Dungeons and Dragons Project by Giant Skull Studio Led by Stig Asmussen Following Strategic Portfolio Review
Wizards of the Coast has cancelled an unannounced action adventure game based on the Dungeons & Dragons universe. The project, according to a report by Bloomberg, was being worked on by Giant Skull an independent studio established by game director Stig Asmussen. The move marks a sudden and premature end to the collaboration between the IP holder and the newly founded development studio.
Stig Asmussen rose to prominence as one of the lead developers of Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order and its sequel, Star Wars Jedi Survivor. He left Respawn Entertainment late last year in order to establish Giant Skull, an independent studio which planned to develop intensely immersive gameplay experiences. The maiden venture of Asmussen's 100% independent studio was planned as a flagship fantasy game using the D&D license.
The cancellation comes after executive leadership within Wizards of the Coast conducted an assessment of the core gameplay mechanics that the development team had proposed. After review of the pitch from the team, the publisher decided to pull the license because the proposed game's creative direction was not congruent with their strategic long term portfolio of products. It then promptly reclaimed the license, thus cutting off future investment.
Although it suffered a major setback, Giant Skull is still up and running, and looking for new potential partners. While no details of the canceled D&D game have been publicly released by Asmussen, he did release a brief statement concerning the status of his studio and relationship with the publisher:
Our studio is doing well and we are in talks with Wizards of the Coast and other publishers about a number of other potential projects.
This event is an example of how treacherous the environment of licensed games can be for fledgling independent studios. Giant Skull now has to seek out alternative intellectual property or original concepts if it is to fund its first official release. Meanwhile, Wizards of the Coast is continuing to undergo a strategic re evaluation of its video game publishing portfolio which has had numerous internal changes and project cancellations within the past year.
