Saints Row May Be Free on PS Plus Soon, But Its Developer Is No More

I think we all knew this was coming this is their second maybe even third game that failed in a row and not to mention how bad thq is struggling, feel bad for anyone losing their job.

Never good to hear of folk losing their job. Hope they find something quickly.

Real shame to see. I loved the earlier Saints Row games.

I'm starting to really not like Embracer and how they do things.

Embracer’s botched attempt to sell themselves to a murdering warlord is causing these hard working devs to be shuttered. Volition were around for 30 years, they made some great games over the years and they’ve been binned. Embracer need to be pushed out of the industry as quickly as possible. Gee, it’s almost as if widespread consolidation is a bad thing.

Volition unfortunately just seemed stuck in the past. Agents of Mayhem to Saints Row reboot. Bomb after bomb.
Embracer really just wanted them for the IP & back catalogue.

It makes me fear for TimeSplitters.

@get2sammyb I think buying up every developer, IP and publisher within arms reach and having over 400 games in active development with thousands of staff was already.....very weird, especially when we see just how few of those games actually come out over the past few years, and how.....eh.....they all are.

The money had to keep flowing, which meant constant investment into Embracer, and evidently, cold feet happened and it became unsustainable.

It almost reeks of a Ponzi scheme.

This is a damn shame, Volition might not have been that great in the last decade but they made some of my favourite games. Saints Row 1 and 2 I love, and the Punisher game and Red Faction games I also enjoyed greatly. When they said the studio was going to help Gearbox I knew the end was nigh, and it's finally happened. I wish the people that worked there well.

How does Embracer get to refer to themselves as a leader in the industry? Besides buying a bunch of studios and closing several of those, what exactly have they contributed?

I haven't played the new one yet but regardless I think they should have just stuck with Johnny Gat and his crew. They just came from the failure that was Agents of Mayhem so they shouldn't have taken a chance with a new crew

You had your chance volition, in fact multiple chances. If you had just listened to the fans you would've had some form of success.

Hope everyone falls on their feet here but honestly, a studio worthy of death.

Hopefully we'll get some insider scoops at some point, assuming a poorly managed teams of talented individuals.

They've legitimately never made a game better than a 7/10 (Saints 2, Saints 3), their lows are low (agents of mayhem and gat out of hell are straight trash).

Saints 4 and Gat out of hell I found insulting. Lazily made games exploiting old assets and maps to try and spin a quick buck.

Not tried the reboot but assuming it was the straw that broke the camels back, not the whole reason

sorry, pedantic time, it's like saying the liverpool vs Newcastle game was free on Sky Sports last weekend. yes it was, if you subscribe to Sky Sports.
sorry but they aren't free.

more importantly it's always sad to hear of folks losing their job. i am sure their talent will take them far.

Well, they didn’t just release a bad game, but had a terrible concept that ruined the franchise even for its existing player base. I wouldn't wish anyone out of a job, but hopefully people find more appropriate employment and are happy and more successful elsewhere.

@lindos What if it's buy 2 get 1 free? Or a free bar in a hotel? It's really down to the seller what you're paying for and what's a bonus, like free sauce or bread in a restaurant.

If you buy an apple tree, and get the apples off it for years, at what point do the apples become free? After the cost of all those apples was covered by the initial cost of the tree? Or are the apples always costing you money infinitely? I mean, with PS+ you've paid some money, sure, but not enough to cover 36 games a year plus other things. Even if it was 100% unambiguously free, you're still paying to play it because of the electricity cost of the PS5, TV and speakers.

Weirdly I just booted up the game before. And having not played for a while it is so jarring.

The audio mixing is so bad. The visuals are poorly done with blur trials for every punch, jump and roll. There was a glitch and multiple graphical bugs within a minute. The gameplay lacks any weight.

And then I've seen this. Were they just kept underfunded and understaffed in order for Embracer to try and make a quick buck? The game was clearly released 3 years before it should have.

Or is this just what Volition has always been :/

Something smells off with them

Is this where we all post our platitudes about how much of a crying shame it is that they are no more, when in reality we collectively spent most of the last year insulting them? Well gamers, I guess we got what we deserved.

"...maintain its position as a leader in the video game industry." I needed a good laugh.

Good luck to everybody who has to look for another job

@Americansamurai1 nothing to do with thq.
The day they made cheap and awfull games like gat out of hell.
Then they should have shut down because everything after that was bad.
Saints row 1.2.3 were good even the alien one was a bit fun.
But also a simple remap and nothing new.

Volition gone?!?! That's super ****. Damn.

I wanted another Saints Row like Saints Row 2… but no they kept the over the top “funny” games coming after Saints Row the Third.
Saints Row 2 will always be the best one.

Wow... I just finished the original Red Faction yesterday, after having played the others over the years, plus Saints Row 3 and 4. That's terrible news, I always liked them. 😭

@The_ghostmen I think it's both there last few games under performed, but thq is not in the position to eat these losses anymore. Your going to see a lot more of there devs start shutting down. We already seen a few of them close. Saints row reboot was such a let down don't even know if it play it on plus. It's a shame that we don't really have e any GTA alternatives anymore.

@Moonvalley_PS You don't feel cringe using the word Woke? I liked the word sjw much better go back to using that 🙂

@Tecinthebrain

What can i rhyme sjw with?

@danzoEX 2 may be your favorite but Most people acknowledge 3 as the best and peak of the series! I know you know this already

@Moonvalley_PS Oh you're right sjw doesn't rhyme with anything, I stand corrected good sir

@Tecinthebrain Most people acknowledge 2 the peak of the series. People flock to 3 because it pops.

@lindos actually they are, because free also means "at no additional cost". So, on ps+, it's most certainly free, just like sometimes you book a hotel room and you get a free massage. You may not use it, but it comes at no additional cost.

@Rmg0731 yes, yes. Absolutely. Like Barbie, The Last of us, both the game and the TV series, Taylor Swift (she became political by embracing democrats, she supports the LGBT community etc) and thousands upon thousands of other examples. All went broke. Clearly.

I think with the right help this studio could have grown in a positive direction, it's unfortunate the Embracer Group doesn't or isn't able to provide that support.

"You will always be in our hearts.”

~~~ leans back in office chair; satisfied with the memo.

~~picks up phone

"Security? yeah, this is Bob. Hahhahhahah! that is a good one. So I called about Volition. Can you throw them out in the street? Who? All of them."

I actually didn't realise Embracer owned what they do. Gearbox, THQ Nordic. I knew that they acquired Crystal and Eidos from Square but wasn't aware of the others.

Fingers crossed we don't see anymore closures, although I've seen this evening them talk about more layoffs at Gearbox.

A sad but expected result. Hope everyone affected finds better/more stable employment next time. I wasn't much of a Saints Row fan myself but still sad to see.

Embracer also owns 4A Games in some capacity don't they? I fear for Metro's future now more than ever. That would hit me straight in the heart. I love the Metro games.

I'm not a symphatetic person, so I don't care about that. I am a little curious about the game though now that it's gonna be free. One of the rare instances where PS+ will actually be useful to me aside from backing saves up xD

I dont know what half you are talking about, they made an absolute mess of a game, with literally the blue prints to 2 great games with the 2 originals and this is what we got?

We can all cry about another studio lost but this studio isn't the same studio who created saints Row 1 and 2 or even red factions, most have probably gone and if you make 1 bad game maybe but they have made 3 in a row, maybe there is some talent there but the studio as a whole were garbage and it shows that they was with all the insults and stuff thrown when the game came out.

The studio had to go, they just wasn't a good team together.

We can all cry about but each and everyone us knows full well if we don't preform at our jobs we would be sacked and unfortunately the game was bad in every department.

The Saints Row Reboot ironically ended the franchise and developer.

They actively ignored fans wishes and the game bombed as a result. It would be disingenuous to say i'm shocked but I am grateful for the OG Saints Row 1 & 2

Well, you cheerful lot will be shocked to know that Volition isn't the only studio closing their doors: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/report-i-awesomenauts-i-developer-ronimo-games-has-filed-for-bankruptcy

Well, I guess this is a lesson on what happens when you hate/ignore/dismiss fans of a well established franchise and try to "reboot" it without understanding what made people fans of it in the first place.

I'll play the world's smallest violin for them.

Its not free its a subscription service!!!

Sucks for everyone who is out of a job, but it was the brass who made the stupid decisions. Sadly, the average Joe and Jane have to suffer for it.

Cackling, laughing, wheezing. This abomination of a "game" being on PS plus this month reeks of an ominous aura

Embracer Group announced a restructuring program to strengthen Embracer and maintain its position as a leader in the video game industry. As part of that program, they evaluated strategic and operational goals and made the difficult decision to close Volition effective immediately.”

Excuse me.. position as leader in the video game industry...?
I NEVER heard of yall.. meanwhile i played at least half a dozen Volition games, and enjoyed them.

Just own up to your mistakes and admit you had no idea where to go concept wise with saints row and you buried it under an unecessary virtual layer of bravado that offers nothing in terms of creativity or playability.
Oh, and i'd appreciate it if you'd stop tooting your own horn while pissing on the graves of predecessor exceedingly more interesting than you.

This is why having a super big company just buy everything up is a bad idea. They'll just shut devs down at the snap of a finger.

Hopefully everyone at Volition can find work right away to support their families.

Earlier this year, i just got so fed up with the greed and poor design of AAA gaming. I sold my ps5 and gaming pc and invested in the Nintendo Switch, been having a great time, no broken games, no being ripped off, you all should try it.

@Moonvalley_PS so high and mighty. People in this community love PlayStation and want to play PlayStation games. I would play Mario with my kids if I have children but I’ll stick to adult gaming for now

@AdamNovice

Please tell me where all the ps1/ps2 classics are in the ps store without a sub.

I hope the employees find a better company to work for and start making better games.

What if embracer was just a bad publisher and wasn't the studios fault? What games have they released that was good?

@Moonvalley_PS what game are you playing on the switch? I wanna play what you're playing lol.

There was always something about the aesthetic of the latest Saints Row that was an immediate turn-off for me.

I hope other studios take notice and avoid this sort of look that don't appeal to a larger audience.

@CutchuSlow

Currently persona 4 arena, than persona 5 and p5 scramble. Biding time until MGS trilogy and Mario Wonder in October.

@Moonvalley_PS I meant the ones with the naked women all over your screen lol.

A lot of the developers were quite rude when receiving (rightful) criticism and defended the game even when it was at it's most broken, so I can't say I feel bad for those particular people. To everyone else I hope they bounce back quickly.

At first I was looking forward to the Saints Reboot but quickly lost interest on how it eventually turned out. Still sucks what happened here though. Hopefully the employees can bounce back and find something new.

Firstly, I was a massive fan of Saints Row from the beginning, number 2 being my favorite - I liked Saints Row 3 however after that it went downhill for me. Secondly, the "reboot" is so bad, screen tearing, frame drops, unoptimized, AI are clueless, voice acting is terrible. It's really bad. Never will I get a refund for that.

Didn't listen to the fans and attacked them. This sucks but it's not surprising how everything played out. People had moved on from SR anyway, they damn sure didn't want this Saints Row in name only trash and the way the devs handled the negative response of fans who had been wanting a new entry pretty much sealed the game and the studio's fate.

That is not a good look for embracer. If you don't know what to do with them, don't buy them just to close them.

@CutchuSlow It's difficult to say as they are an amalgamation of smaller publishers and developers.
I personally liked Darksiders 3. But, it didn't review gangbusters.

From deep silver they got stuff like homefront and dead island.
Thq nordic they have darksiders, kingdoms of amalur, elex, destroy all humans, jagged alliance 3, wreckfest...

So, it very much depends. I would call them a mud range publishers trying to break into AAA. Clearly there are growing pains. Some of their games have had and have development issues. But, they got some cool stuff coming such as the kotor remake, tomb raider, space marine 2, etc.
We'll see how they do.

I'm not surprised by this closure, but it's sad none the less. I agree with the comments that they were stuck in the past though. I haven't tried SR Reboot, but Agents of Mayhem was a painfully mediocre game. I bought it for $5 out of a Redbox kiosk because my friend worked on it and I played it for maybe 30 minutes and found it to be really dull.

I liked Red Faction: Armageddon and I played through SR3, but frankly they never made a game I loved. I always thought they were a solid B developer.

Also, for people talking about Gat Out of Hell, according to my friend that was mostly High Voltage Games and not Volition's work.

The only thing worse that GTA is rip offs of GTA.
Yet they sell millions. No accounting for taste. Probably the same people who buy COD and FIFA every year

Devastating. Thanks for the memories Volition

Hope those people can find something else for a living.

And as for Embracer Group, and the way they have acted and handled everything lately, it makes me sad that the likes of Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief, and Legacy of Kain are under that company's roof right now.

Well you fail to change with the times and don't listen to your fans, and keep releasing junk heap afte junk heap, are we suppose to be surprised

@CutchuSlow

Waifu uncovered 1 & 2

Don't judge me man.

@get2sammyb That's why Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo need to let the independent stay that way it's a pity that so many fun smaller developer get swallowed up and wither away or just get killed off.

@RudeAnimat0r I agree it was not bad but also so mediocre that I could not be bothered to finish it.

I'm not surprised put out a game like that big let down to the fans . What's wrong with a 70s/80s/90s action type dudes and add tank girl in to the mix. Im Gona look at game mods i see that you can delete these characters and replace em I will buy this game on steam and that will be on sale . If they went with characters from Brooklyn nine nine now that would of been awesome 😎👍 I don't like seeing game companies disappear.

This is what happen when you don't listen to your fan, and berate them on twitter instead.

@Flaming_Kaiser the argument is that if they don't - a company like Tencent will buy them instead. These "independents" all have one dream. The dream is to get bought out. These companies are started with the intent on getting bought. Very few want to grow into a Capcom, SE, EA, ABK.

Notch is a billionaire for making a pixel game at his desk by himself. he can start an army in a Central American country of his choice. That is the dream.

I saw that and it gave me a meme idea.

https://imgur.com/gallery/frJzjs1

It did make me wonder the game was fine enough but I mean like Duke Nukem does the craziness and theming hold up? I and many others may be open to those moments but yeah....

Honestly I think appealing to Gen Z let alone
to not be too inappropriate for parents is just bad. Most of them unlike past gens actually care for other games that aren't hits. Saints Row may be a big name but relevant hmm. Let alone theming changes to go different in the era we are in I get the wacky 2000s are over and many forms of parody go over people's heads or are still too raunchy and those I to them enjoy them still (not surprised we saw less movies with gross out humour and jokes even though some have come back around for those into them) then what happens in 3&4 and struggling to change things up.

I'm not into them but don't mind Duke Nukem. Some Saints Row 4 stuff made me go what are they coming up with. Like the fan service toy thing but otherwise it makes sense in the game and it is fictions them going nuts on ideas. XD Compared to nowadays where toned down things have happened since.

Like sure Millennials did care for GTA but you had sales still for other games as kids/teens. With most eSports and other hits now do Gen Z care for other games when free to play exist instead? I swear how much are us platformer fans buying up the third party Indie ones while kids get more recognisable ones. Besides well kids getting licensed games for current tv shows of course. But us platformer fans support what we can of such ideas and themes and characters while we can for these Indies I guess. Even though many existed XBLA and otherwise the big ones still had more presence then than now where if you want a 3D platformer it's not hard to find any besides that 2D platformers were the focus then. Besides what Spare Parts or others???. What an interesting but forgotten EA platformer.

Sure GTA and Assassin's Creed sell but it's still a fair amount of adults buying up the open worlds or even remember Saint's Row even regardless of the remasters filling things in across modern platforms. Besides that well they do hold up I assume game design especially not just the theming you can or can't stand still depending. Or know it was a different time and accept it.

I think Volition was wasting their time. Fans want one thing, the landscape of games content didn't make much sense for open world game design in Saints Row (then again asa Sunset Overdrive fan not into outposts and other formulaic content and was the grinding rails, tower defence and more aspects with regular and platforming missions there is a reason it's my favourite open world and others are not but I like it's DNA not other formulaic DNA in other games, so you bet more bland open world outposts and more doesn't interest me in 99% of open worlds so I never play the genre enough so if Saints Row had vehicle missions and other things sure but they had their issues I know XD) even besides the theming and target audience being a clear sign for sure.

They should have changed tact. I don't think enough fans would have bought it even if it was the same old themes and missions but maybe (besides Duke Nukem had to be a modern shooter and was a mess so it's not worth comparing to but some Boomer Shooters have had that sort of particular angle from Indies and being in on their characters on social media which is pretty interesting and I assume had some success so it's likely possible the same way Conker or Leisure Suit Larry and more still exist but they are cult followings after all) but I also think what they made was pretty average for sure and also old game design people didn't like.

As someone playing old games a lot besides modern I can see what is bad and go yeah no one likes these missions or levels or mechanics I can see why. XD

Some old game design makes sense others don't I don't cancel everything old.

Heck so many old games have fresh ideas modern games NEED or feel more fresh and more fun them trend following blandness.

But here we are with games today copying and not much changes that are exciting besides a certain amount of titles Indies or AA making more mechanics seeking games to me at least.

Unless already into the trends game design or thems or whatever.

I'm not so I look strictly on what I think stands out of mechanics in genres as I play for gameplay regardless of themes but that's just me. If people prefer the trends that's them.

Like Destruction All-stars who thinks a battle Royale/arena with vehicles appeals to Gen Z let alone anyone only us people into arcade racers still care about vehicles not the average person. Lucid should know as part of those people I assume at least we're part of Bizarre Creations, same with some went to Playground. If they have the Geometry Wars 3 release they clearly knew oh Blur didn't work out (even though a cult following) why would a vehicle game now with an arena. Most know arcade racers don't even get played by the racing community really unless they are big enough anyway I barely hear about them as it is either.

I liked Agents of Mayhem regardless of buying for $2 later. I am not into their games usually though. Nor open worlds or cared for Saints Row and that side of open worlds. Red Faction getting whatever life now is interesting to think about though.

Their stock is in the crapper so at least the management team is also paying for their mistakes. They’re putting all of their eggs in the Lord of the Rings basket so it better pay off.

@SuntannedDuck2 haha I loved duke nukem when I was growing up it was all a bit of fun.