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Stig Asmussen

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Stig Asmussen
Born (1972-09-13) September 13, 1972 (age 52)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materThe Art Institute of Pittsburgh
Occupations
Years active1999–present
Employer(s)Midway Games (1999-2003)
Sony Computer Entertainment (2003–2014)
Respawn Entertainment (2014–2023)
Giant Skull (2024–present)
Notable work
AwardsBAFTA Best Artistic Achievement (2011)

Stig Asmussen is an American video game developer best known for his work on the God of War series for Santa Monica Studio and the Star Wars Jedi series for Respawn Entertainment. Stig Asmussen founded his own new AAA video game development studio Giant Skull in 2023 September 9.

Biography

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Asmussen graduated from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh in 1998 with an Associate of Specialized Technology in Computer Animation Media.[1] He is the son of Jes Asmussen, University Distinguished Professor and Executive Director of the Fraunhofer Center for Coatings and Laser Applications at Michigan State University.[citation needed]

Throughout the God of War series, he worked as a lead environment artist, art director, and was game director of God of War III after Cory Barlog's departure.[2] In 2011, Stig Asmussen won the BAFTA Best Artistic Achievement Award for his work on God of War III.[3] In an interview in April 2012, according to David Jaffe (creator of God of War), Asmussen was "doing cool stuff" at Santa Monica, and did not work on God of War: Ascension.[4]

In 2014, Asmussen left Santa Monica Studio. He has since joined Respawn Entertainment as a game director.[5] On May 4, 2016 – Star Wars Day – Asmussen announced Respawn Entertainment was making a third-person Star Wars game.[6] This was announced as Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. In 2022, Stig Asmussen announced a sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.[7] Asmussen left EA on September 13, 2023, five months after Star Wars Jedi: Survivor released.[8]

Stig Asmussen announced the founding of a new independent AAA video game studio in 2024. Asmussen revealed that the studio is currently developing a new AAA single-player game built on Unreal Engine 5.[9] The Giant Skull leadership team, in addition to Asmussen, consists of the following: lead producer Lauren McLemore, art director Patrick Murphy, CTO Jon Carr, design director Jeff Magers, animation director Brian Campbell, and COO/CFO Anthony Scott. Although no names were given, the press statement introducing Giant Skull stated that Rockstar, the studio behind GTA and Red Dead, had also contributed talent to the team.[10]

Works

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Year Title Director Writer Artist Notes Studio
1999 Gauntlet: Dark Legacy No No Yes 3D artist Midway Games
2002 Dr. Muto No No Yes Lead level artist
2005 God of War No No Yes Lead environment artist Santa Monica Studio
2007 God of War II No No Yes Art director
2008 God of War: Chains of Olympus No No Yes Ready at Dawn
2010 God of War III Yes Add. No Santa Monica Studio
2011 Mortal Kombat Add. No No Creative director (Santa Monica Studio) NetherRealm Studios
2013 God of War: Ascension No No Add. Additional art support Santa Monica Studio
2019 Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Yes Story No Game Director Respawn Entertainment
2023 Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Yes Story No

References

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  1. ^ "Alumni success stories: Stig Asmussen". The Art Institutes. Archived from the original on September 19, 2016.
  2. ^ "Stig Asmussen". IMDb. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
  3. ^ "2011 Games Artistic Achievement | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  4. ^ Moss, Sebastian (April 19, 2012). "Game Director Stig Asmussen "Doing Cool Stuff" at Sony Santa Monica, Not God Of War: Ascension". PlayStation LifeStyle. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  5. ^ Jarvis, Matthew (March 29, 2016). "Divide and conquer: the next step for Respawn". Develop. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
  6. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (May 4, 2016). "Titanfall developer Respawn is making a third-person Star Wars game". Eurogamer. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  7. ^ McWhertor, Michael (May 27, 2022). "Respawn reveals Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, its sequel to Fallen Order". Polygon. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  8. ^ "'Star Wars' Video-Game Director Stig Asmussen Leaves Electronic Arts". Bloomberg.com. September 13, 2023. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  9. ^ "Star Wars: Jedi director Stig Asmussen has formed a new studio". VGC. March 12, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  10. ^ "Star Wars And God Of War Veteran Announces New Studio Working On AAA Unreal Engine 5 Single-Player Game". GameSpot. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
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