Activision forms new studio Elsewhere Entertainment to work on new narrative-based IP

Microsoft-owned Activision has announced Elsewhere Entertainment a new, Warsaw-based studio.

With additional resources based in the US, the internal, standalone studio consists of a collection of developers whose credits include The Last of Us, Uncharted, The Witcher, Cyberpunk, Destiny, Tom Clancy’s The Division, and Far Cry.

The studio is working on a new AAA narrative-based franchise, and the team has been given full access to Activision’s resources and tools due to increasing production and development. Elsewhere is also hiring.

It seems a bit odd to announce a new studio, let alone form one, considering that just last week, Microsoft shut down four studios: Tango Gameworks, Arcane Austin, Alpha Dog Games, and Roundhouse Games – and let’s not forget the 1,900 staffers it let go from its video game division earlier this year.

However, it’s worth noting that Activision mostly operates separately from Microsoft and has since the merger was finalized.

Court documents (page 28, line 20) from the FTC vs Microsoft suit state that the company “intends to operate Activision similar to recent acquisitions” and that its “creative operations will remain separate and continue to run as it did pre-merger.”

Despite this, it is still a Microsoft-owned company, after all, so it has the final say.