Massive Entertainment, the Sweden based subsidiary to Ubisoft, is the studio responsible for games likeThe Divisionand an upcomingStar Warstitle. Beginning as a small studio,Massive Entertainmentnow employs over 750 people in all aspects of game design, though some original developers now feel their talents aren’t as effective in a studio of such size.
The company’s size has legitimized the studio as a major gaming force thanks in large part to its work onTom Clancy’s The Division. This is reflected in the size and scale of its AAA titles and the third-party properties the studio is now entrusted with,such as the upcomingAvatar: Frontiers of Pandora, andStar Wars.
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During the interview David Polfeldt explained his approach to game design and managing teams of developers. Polfeldt says this approach was related to his reasons for leaving the company, stating; “I think my philosophy and my skills work well for a certain kind of group of a certain kind of size.” While a studio size of 750 people is still smallcompared to Ubisoft’s flagship studio in Montrealwhich has a 3500+ employee count, it is still far from the indie-level Massive Entertainment Polfeldt first joined 17 years ago.
Polfeldt’s indie sensibilities and experience as the managing director of a major games studio could see him joining, or even starting a smaller studio to build up the same way Massive Entertainment did. There has been a trend lately ofindustry veterans such as Ikumi Nakamura starting their own smaller studiosand, in an industry currently dominated by billion dollar buy-outs, the more mid-size studios filling the space between indie and AAA the better.
It’s a busy time at Massive Entertainment for it to be losing a major development head, with several games either upcoming or in development. Such asAvatar: Frontiers of Pandora,which is scheduled for release in April 2023,or the newStar Warstitle whichis reportedly still in early development, meaning there is at least a few more years of work still to do on the project. Although there is probably very rarely a quiet time for a managing director at a major Ubisoft studio to slip out the door.
