In a wide-ranging interview with outlet GamesIndustry.biz, Ascendant Studios founder Bret Robbins has defended the team's debut title Immortals of Aveum - claiming that the "story" of its development "isn't written yet".
In this fascinating chat, Robbins highlights lots of the trials and tribulations of modern-day game development, claiming that creating a triple-A experience as an independent developer is pretty rare these days. Still, he believes Immortals has put his studio "on the map".
"We have put ourselves on the map, [...] You can probably count on one hand the number of independent AAA studios. There are not many of us. We've made a name for ourselves by putting something out that was good quality."
Elsewhere, the studio founder acknowledged the game's "very crowded" launch window, but felt that there'd be no guarantees if the game shifted its release date. In the end, the game's final delay from July to August last year ensured that "the game was better" but ultimately made it so that "the timing was worse" for its release.
Just a couple of weeks ago, a former Ascendant Studios dev claimed that the $125 million title was an "awful idea" in today's market - but clearly, Robbins doesn't fully agree. The studio founder says that Immortals of Aveum sales "are picking up", and that he "hopes more and more people play and enjoy it".
Speaking of which - we did just that back around launch last August. Immortals of Aveum isn't perfect, but it's a fun magic-based shooter that's absolutely worth a play for fans of the genre.