'Sacrifices Have Been for You'; Saints Row Devs Publishes Touching Farewell Letter
Wanting to say goodbye to players, Volition published a touching letter, in which the developers stressed that all their sacrifices were made with fans in mind.
Yesterday Volition informed the gaming community of its closure, caused by restructuring within the ranks of its parent company, the Embracer Group. Today, this American developer, whose three decades of work (the studio was founded in 1993, but for the first three years of its operation, it was known as Parallax Software) has produced series such as Red Faction or Saints Row, published a touching letter to fans.
Volition thanked gamers for their support over the years, and former and current and past colleagues for creating a workplace where people were like family to each other. Here is the full content of the announcement:
"Thirty years making games. There are only a handful of studios in the industry that have been around for 30 years, and we are very proud that Volition is one of them. Volition has been around for so long that some people forget what we created, but they certainly know our games. Phrases like “Volition made Descent?!”, or “Volition made FreeSpace?!”, or “Volition made that SummonerRPG with that hilarious video?!” They are not uncommon. Sometimes it’s easier to remember games than the studio that made them, especially for those that have been around as long as we have. But all good things come to an end, and so does Volition. After 30 years, Volition has closed and we wanted to say a few final words.
To begin with, we know that there would not be a studio without the people who make it up. While it may seem cliché, as those who have worked at Volition can attest, it really is one big family. Volition started with a team that had a vision for how to create the types of games others couldn’t and instilled that confidence throughout the company. We brought together an incredibly talented group of artists, storytellers, and creators who together built a culture that attracted world-class people who truly cared about each other. Time passed, people naturally came and went (and very often he returned!), but the people were always what made Volition truly special. Do all developers feel the same? We know it does, but in this case there really was a unique culture of people who cared about each other like family, combined with the desire to create some of the most unique games ever made. Many thanks to all the Volitionites who have ever worked here. You are all the ones who made this the magical place to work, and we can never say enough about how much you have meant to us over these 30 years.
Beyond our development family, we also wouldn’t have a studio without our extended family – our community! For 30 years you have played our games; Sometimes you have loved them, sometimes they have disappointed you, but you have always been there. We can speak for everyone who has worked on Volition when we say that all the hard work and sacrifices we have put into these games have been for you. Over the years we’ve enjoyed working on an extremely diverse series of games, and many of you have come along for the ride. We can’t thank you enough for staying with us all this time. We’ve loved your enthusiasm every step of the way, even those moments when you wish we’d (or hadn’t!) gone down a certain path with Saints Row, Red Faction or Descent You are the reason we continue to make these games, and those of us who have been part of the Volition family will be forever grateful.
Farewell."
I think that even gamers who were not fond of Volition's games will shed a tear after this letter. Let's hope that its recent members will find work in the game industry and serve us more interesting titles in the future.
