Publisher CI Games has just announced that it has released Lords of the Fallen 2 developer Defiant Studios from the project. Defiant originally signed on to work on the game due to original developer Deck13 Interactive being busy working on The Surge 2.
According to the Polish press release translated by Eurogamer, CI Games dropped Defiant due to supposedly shoddy work: “The termination of the agreement was submitted due to inadequate execution by Defiant [of] a key work stage (milestone no. 11), a so-called vertical slice.” As part of this, CI stated that the quality of Defiant’s work was “lower than expected.” This is despite apparently making three separate calls on Defiant to improve their work.
Defiant Studios however disputes the claims made by CI. Talking to Eurogamer, Defiant Studios founder and managing director David Grijn stated that “We categorically disagree with the portrayal of Defiant Studios made by CI Games.” He further made mention of the team’s previous involvement with games such as Just Cause 3, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Far Cry 5, and DmC Devil May Cry, citing its involvement in those as proof of its talent.
However, Grijn clarified that due to contractual obligations, he couldn’t say anything more in regards to the studio being dropped.
Defiant originally planned for Lords of the Fallen 2 to be a fresh start for the franchise, incorporating new ideas not found in the original. As part of this, the studio put together a new team, one that didn’t have “a long and illustrious background in action RPG development.” Whether or not this decision led to the issues that caused CI Games to drop them is unknown.
CI Games dropping Defiant Studios as Lords of the Fallen 2‘s developer raises the question of who will now continue work on the game. Additionally, will said new developers continue Defiant’s plans for a fresh start, or will they do something closer to the original?
