Mass Effect Co-Creator Studio Human Origin Abruptly Shuttered in the Midst of AAA Sci-Fi Game Development

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Humanoid Origin, the game studio founded by Mass Effect co-creator Casey Hudson, is shutting down, according to an official post from the company today.


The LinkedIn post announcing the shuttering explains that the decision was made due to "an unexpected shortfall of funding" despite efforts to "shield the studio from broader challenges in the industry."

We’re heartbroken that we will not be able to bring our new science-fiction universe to completion. Our main concern at this time however is for our team, and we are committed to supporting them in their transition to new employment.

In our time together, the team achieved incredible progress, and demonstrated that it's possible to do amazing work while fostering a culture of fun and creativity. We thank them for their talent, courage, and friendship.

Humanoid Origin has only existed since June of 2021, just over three years. It was first announced by Hudson as Humanoid Studios following his departure from BioWare the prior December, and was later revealed to be working on a multi-platform, AAA game in a new science fiction universe. In 2023, Hudson announced the company name would be slightly changed to Humanoid Origin, "reflecting the idea that in a world of AI-generated content, the creativity of our games originates with the talented humans on our team!" Humanoid Origin was actively hiring as recently as this past May.


This closure comes as yet another in a long, long series of layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations that's been going on throughout 2023 and 2024. An estimated 14,000 developers have lost their jobs in 2024, after over 10,000 the year prior. We've covered both the reasons why this trend has been occuring and its impact on individual developers earlier this year, but the jury is still out on when the cpnstant shutterings will finally slowdown.


Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to [email protected].