Mass Effect co-creator studio Human Origin abruptly shut down in the middle of developing AAA sci-fi games

Humanoid Origin, the game studio founded by Mass Effect co-creator Casey Hudson, is closing today, according to an official post from the company.

The LinkedIn post announcing the closure said the decision was made due to “an unexpected funding shortfall,” despite efforts to “insulate the studio from broader industry challenges.”

It breaks our hearts that we won’t be able to finish our new science fiction universe. However, our primary concern at this time is our team and we are committed to supporting them as they transition into new employment.

In our time together, the team has made incredible progress and shown that it is possible to do great work while fostering a culture of fun and creativity. We thank them for their talent, their courage and their friendship.

Humanoid Origin has only existed since June 2021, a little over three years. Hudson first announced it as Humanoid Studios after leaving BioWare last December, and it was later revealed that it was working on a multi-platform AAA game in a new sci-fi universe. In 2023, Hudson announced that it would change the company name slightly to Humanoid Origin, “reflecting the idea that in a world of AI-generated content, the creativity of our games comes from the talented people on our team!” Humanoid Origin only launched in 2023 actively hired new employees last May.

This closure is another in a long, long line of layoffs, studio closures and game cancellations that have occurred throughout 2023 and 2024. An estimated 14,000 developers will have lost their jobs in 2024, up from over 10,000 the year before. We covered both the reasons for this trend and its impact on individual developers earlier this year, but the jury is still out on when the constant closures will finally subside.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her post on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Do you have a story tip? Send it to [email protected].