This morning, Eurogamer reports that OnRush and Driveclub developer Evo (previously Evolution Studios) is going through significant layoffs after OnRush failed to meet sales expectations. The director of both games, Paul Rustchynsky, is among the many who have been let go. The report states that several senior staff are joining him on the way out.
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Evolution Studios was responsible for the PS4 exclusive Driveclub, which endured a rocky launch, but now stands as one of the best racing games of the generation (and one of the most beautiful). Sony let Evolution Studios go after Driveclub’s “Bikes” expansion dropped, and then Codemasters picked the studio up after that. OnRush was its first game with Codemasters and, according to Eurogamer’s source, it only managed to sell just over 1,000 copies during its launch week in the UK. Despite multiple free trial periods and a price reduction, it hasn’t managed to bounce back as well as it needed to.
As for Codemasters, they’ve stated that this is business as usual. “It is normal course of business for game teams to evolve as projects launch and move into service, and as other new projects start,” a spokesperson told Eurogamer. “As such, it isn’t appropriate to comment on day to day movement of staff changes.”
It is a bit baffling because, on the surface, Evo seemed to do everything right with OnRush. The game itself is a ton of fun. We gave it a 4.5 out of 5 in our review, and it’s currently sitting at a respectable 76 on Metacritic. It’s not that players didn’t have fun with OnRush; I think the issue is that the core concept of the game was confusing, and it wasn’t effectively marketed.
OnRush is a game that you have to spend time with to understand, and in a culture that values the ever-brief “elevator pitch” above all things, that can be a deadly ball and chain. Call of Duty is playing tag with guns. Rocket League is soccer with cars. Fortnite is a 100-player “last man standing” battle royale. OnRush is a racing game that’s not really a racing game, where you don’t try to come in first or even stay in the lead, but in stead collect boost and power ups in order to ram your enemies, wreck them, power up your team, and score style points. It can be hard to wrap your head around, and even after seeing some in-game footage, it can be hard to know whether you’re looking at a racing game or something different.
It’s fun, and it’s novel, but in the end it just wasn’t something that consumers were willing to buy. We love the game dearly, and we wish everyone who just departed Evo luck in finding new work soon. We can’t wait to see what these developers and what Paul “Rushy” Rustchynsky do next.
