Activision opens studio with Witcher, Destiny, and Last of Us devs to make new games IP

Activision today announced the formation of Elsewhere, a new studio focused on making a fresh franchise for Microsoft.

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A bit ago, Bethesda and Xbox executives made the decision to shut down three studios, including Arkane Austin (Prey), Tango Gameworks (The Evil Within, Hi-Fi Rush), and Alpha Dog (Mighty Doom). Now another one of Microsoft's divisions, Activision, is opening up a new studio.

The new group is called Elsewhere Entertainment, and the studio is made up of "storytelling experts" that worked on some of the highest-profile games on the market including The Last of Us, Uncharted, The Witcher, Cyberpunk, Destiny, The Division, and Far Cry.

Elsewhere is headquartered in Poland, and the team has one singular goal: To make a new "narrative-based, genre-defining AAA franchise" for Activision. It's worth noting that this may be the only internal Activision team that is not working on Call of Duty projects in some form or another.

Another point is that Elsewhere Entertainment is part of Activision, not Blizzard, so there should be clear separations there. Blizzard had also cancelled its new survival IP a bit ago.

"Built from the ground up, Elsewhere Entertainment is a premier and standalone studio dedicated to establishing an environment that inspires bold and diverse ideas.

"The team's underlying mission encourages everyone to explore and collaborate creatively to craft a franchise with an enduring legacy that resonates far beyond games.

"The new studio has full access to Activision's resources and tools as it continues to increase production and development. Elsewhere is opening its search for best-in-class talent from across the industry and around the world to help create a state-of-the-art and next generation gaming experience."