At the start of the year, James Ohlen, studio co-founder at Archetype Entertainment, said he was stepping away from a leadership role to develop new worlds at his own company and work alongside Hasbro for a couple of books. Archetype Entertainment was left in capable hands to continue work on Exodus, and for Ohlen, he earned himself a much-needed break.
Speaking with PCGamer, Ohlen said that running a studio was a challenge he'd not expected, and one that did serious damage to his health. "I always told everybody I should never be the head of a studio because it'll kill me. And it nearly killed me. It was six years of nearly killing me," he said.
Ohlen had always been willing to work long hours, and loved creating stories and building worlds. He found as a studio lead, though, that he didn't get to do too much of that, leading to burnout. "I was running on fumes, and it was hurting my health, and my personal life, and everything. I just needed to step away," he described.
This isn't the first time Ohlen's had to step away from gaming for a bit. Back in 2018, he ended up leaving BioWare after overseeing Star Wars: The Old Republic. He wanted to reboot the game entirely as Star Wars: The New Republic, but the plans were halted by EA. Ohlen didn't quite like the size of the MMO he'd helped build, and with Exodus as well, he knew he was making another massive game. "I fooled myself that I wouldn't be dying inside. But yeah, it was just too much," he said.
Exodus is set to release in early 2027 for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.