Supermassive Games founders Pete and Joe Samuels are stepping down from the company after 16 years of operation. The news was announced on the studio’s official LinkedIn page today, and the co-founders also had a few words to say in parting.
The official Supermassive Games LinkedIn page shared the following post this morning:
The post thanks Pete and Joe for their work over more than 15 years of the company’s existence and wishes them luck on their next endeavors. Pete Samuels also had some heartfelt words to say regarding the founders’ decision to step down:
After over 15 years as CEO of Supermassive Games, I have taken the very difficult decision to step down from my role and leave the business.
My decision is entirely on health grounds and hasn’t been taken lightly. I am, and always will be, proud of what Joe Samuels and I founded all those years ago and filled with admiration for the Supermassive Team and the amazing things that they have achieved. I remain excited about their future under a talented new Leadership Team, led by Robert Henrysson, that will guide Supermassive through the next stage of its incredible journey.
I may be handing over the reins, but I’ll always be cheering from the sidelines.
As Pete stated in his farewell message, a new leadership team will head the company. This team will be led by Robert Henrysson, a current Chairman of Avalanche Studios. In a post of his own, Henrysson expressed an enthusiasm to take up the new role and stated that it would take up most of his professional time.
Pete and Joe Samuels helped to create a studio with a great reputation for cinematic interactive experiences. They saw breakout success with Until Dawn, but their studio as a whole has always poured their hearts into the projects they’ve put out. Hopefully, they’ll be able to continue a trend of compelling narrative games, especially as they branch out to make games for other franchies like Dead by Daylight.
Supermassive has plenty to look forward to in 2024. If you’re excited for their upcoming releases like Little Nightmares 3, let us know down in the comments. Speaking of Until Dawn, the game is being re-released later this year for the PS5, though it’s being handled by a different studio this time.
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Never a good sign. Many great studios like Rocksteady, & Bungie became hack outfits, with no ability to make even a quality game, once their founders left, and took their work ethic, and high standards with them.