After six years as an Embracer studio, Carmageddon: Rogue Shift developer 34BigThings is independent again. The studio announced today that original co-founder Valerio Di Donato has acquired full ownership of the studio, which will now be led by Di Donato, fellow co-founder Giuseppe Enrico Franchi, and new chief financial officer Daniel Giagnorio.
Di Donato paid tribute to Embracer in today's announcement, saying its stewardship enabled 34BigThings, whose previous releases include the Redout games, Mars or Die!, and Otto, to grow to more than 70 employees and establish itself as an acclaimed European developer.
"This provided us with invaluable structure and stability, while offering a first-hand look at the complexities of balancing internal development with external stakeholders," Di Donato said.
Franchi said the return to independence gives the studio "absolute autonomy to shape our structure, our projects, and our development approach," a point he expanded on in a chat with PC Gamer. "Being independent means being free to pick and choose our own projects, freely discard what doesn’t work, allocate production resources the way we see fit, and being quicker in seizing external opportunities without having to wait for approval."
It certainly sounds like good news for 34BigThings, although its return to independence could be seen as a sign of continued upheaval at Embracer, which after ballooning to a surprise game industry powerhouse has spent the last few years laying off employees, closing and selling studios, and running through multiple restructurings.
It's not clear whether Embracer was shopping 34BigThings around as part of that process, and the price of its newly-reacquired independence wasn't disclosed so it's impossible to say whether Embracer took a Gearbox-style shellacking on it. But as far as Franchi is concerned, none of that is relevant anyway: "Our reacquisition plans were independent to any, if existing, conversations otherwise and motivated by the growth and future direction we wanted to see in the studio."
As for what comes next, 34BigThings is looking to kick off its next phase "with an absolute bang," Franchi said.
"Later this year, we will be announcing a major title built on one of the most important, beloved, and revered intellectual properties in the world. And that's just the start: our production pipeline is fully charged, with another major title scheduled for 2027 followed by another groundbreaking project slated for 2028."
