Activision Forms Elsewhere Entertainment to Work on a New Franchise

Activision has formed a new studio to develop a new, "genre-defining AAA franchise."

By Hannah Adkins

Activision has announced the creation of a new studio, Elsewhere Entertainment, which is headquartered in Warsaw, Poland and supported by additional resources in the United States. Per the announcement on the Activision blog, the new studio "is exclusively focused on creating a new narrative-based and genre-defining AAA franchise." Elsewhere Entertainment is an internal studio created and owned by Activision, which is part of Activision Blizzard, which is itself part of Microsoft Xbox.

"Built from the ground up, Elsewhere Entertainment is a premier and standalone studio dedicated to establishing an environment that inspires bold and diverse ideas," Activision's blog post stated. "The team's underlying mission encourages everyone to explore and collaborate creatively to craft a franchise with an enduring legacy that resonates far beyond games."

The announcement also mentions some of the credits across the team members that make up Elsewhere Entertainment include The Last of Us, Uncharted, The Witcher, Cyberpunk, Destiny, Tom Clancy's The Division, and Far Cry, further indicating the types of games the newly formed studio will create, particularly with their all-new IP, a AAA franchise.

"The new studio has full access to Activision's resources and tools as it continues to increase production and development," the announcement further notes. "Elsewhere is opening its search for best-in-class talent from across the industry and around the world to help create a state-of-the-art and next generation gaming experience."

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Based on the information provided about Elsewhere Entertainment, it seems by the repeated mentions of the studio's projects being narrative focused and resonating "far beyond games," it's possible we'll see whatever new franchise the studio is creating spread across multiple media formats, not just video games.

The announcement that Activision has created a new studio to work on their new AAA IP comes very shortly after Microsoft closed two critically acclaimed studios with Tango Dreamworks and Arkane Austin, as well as consolidating other ZeniMax Studios based in the United States. While the gaming industry has been devastated by studio closures and layoffs over the last several months, it's nice to see a new studio be formed to offer up employment opportunities for some well-deserving individuals in the industry waiting for their next role. While there is that glimmer of hope, it is unfortunate that we see smaller, independent studios face extinction in the face of AAA studio focus. 

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