In an unfortunate break of news from developer Human Head Studios, it was revealed earlier this month that the studio will be closing its doors leaving their latest open-world adventure Rune II to be the last installment from the Wisconsin-based team. However, in light of the drastic decision for the developer, the studio contacted Bethesda and was offered the opportunity to open a new subsidiary team under the publisher.
Going by the new alias as Roundhouse Studios, it was shared in the team’s blog that every developer at the former studio has been offered new positions at the newly founded studio. “We reached out to our friends at Bethesda for help, and they saw that same creativity and passion in our team. With the formation of Roundhouse Studios, Bethesda offered every employee of Human Head a position at the new company. We are excited our team will remain together, pursuing the work we love, as part of a company we already know and admire.”
In a press release elsewhere, Bethesda Vice President of Development Todd Vaughn shares his excitement for the opening of Roundhouse Studios.
While sorry to hear of their challenges as Human Head Studios, we were excited by the opportunity to bring under the Bethesda umbrella this talented, established development team. We are delighted that the entire staff will remain together and is now part of the Bethesda family.
Furthermore, Bethesda goes on to reveal that the new studio will be working on “unannounced projects at Bethesda.” Upon the latest release that embarked onto the Epic Games Store this month, Human Head Studios is also known for their work on 2006’s Prey. The developer later on went to partner with Bethesda to create a sequel for the series, but was ultimately cancelled following the project’s announcement. Follow suit with the publisher acquiring the rights the IP and rebooting the game in 2017 with Dishonored’s Arkane Studios.
Looking that the developer is now bringing on new projects with the help from Bethesda, maybe it wouldn’t be to extreme to speculate that Roundhouse Studios will be involved with Arkane Studios on a potential sequel somewhere in the future? That is left unknown, but would be appreciated that the current and veteran teams work in conjunction to bring the ultimate experience to the user base.
What do you think about this new acquisition for Bethesda?
Source: Human Head Studios
