34BigThings, the developers behind Redout and Carmageddon: Rogue Shift, has announced its return as an independently-owned studio. Valerio Di Donato, the studio founder, re-acquired all of the company’s shares from the Embracer Group as of April 17.
The team will now be led by co-founder Giuseppe Enrico Franchi, as detailed in their latest blog post. The news comes as Embracer Group recently announced its intention to split into separate companies once again, so it can gain more flexibility in pursuing mergers and acquisitions. As part of the announcement, Valerio mentioned that 34BigThings keeps its ongoing projects and teases “a major title built on one of the most important, beloved, and revered intellectual properties in the world.”
The founders intend to take the lessons learned from working under Saber Interactive and apply them with their newfound autonomy. Currently, the studio still has two titles in active development; one slated for 2027, and another for 2028. As Giuseppe puts it, the business of making games became risky and costly. Despite the challenges, 34BigThings managed to stay afloat without slashing its workforce as the industry undergoes yet another wave of layoffs. As Saber left and Embracer split, the studio remained in radio silence to focus on development for Carmageddon: Rogue Shift.
The studio was founded in 2013 and operated independently up until late 2020. Now, 34BigThings aims to start its new phase “with an absolute bang” as it transitions once again to a founder-owned structure. Valerio believes them to be in a position to build ambitious partnerships and manage world-class IPs. Lastly, the studio’s latest game, Carmageddon: Rogue Shift, is available now on PC via Steam.
