With all the layoffs that are taking place in the industry as of late, it's a breath of fresh air to see that a new studio has actually opened its doors. Shapeshifter Games is that very new studio, and is said to be a developer that was founded and is made up of former ex-Volition employees with the aim of partnering "with world class developers and publishers on the creation of AAA games."
As stated on the developer's LinkedIn page, Shapeshifter adds that it "draws upon deep experience in open-world and character action games earned while working on some of the industry's most beloved franchises."
TechRaptor, who first reported on the developer, also added that several Volition executive's are taking top roles at the company, including Matt Madigan as the studio head, with Rob Loftus as principal producer, and Brian Traficante as the franchise creative director.
To add to this, a different listing from another employee at the developer did add that Shapeshifter is focussed on using Unreal Engine 5, developing games for consoles, and also serving as a co-developer for a project for Xbox Game Studios. What project this relates to currently remains unknown.
Considering Volition was one of Embracer's most recent sacrifices, when it was shut down in the summer of 2023, it's great to see so many of the affected developers back at work.