Did Microsoft (since they own Activision Blizzard King) resort to this to get cheaper labor?

Earlier this year we reported that many people had lost their jobs at Activision Blizzard, and then for example Arkane Austin (Prey 2017, Redfall) or Tango Gameworks (The Evil Within, Ghostwire Tokyo, Hi-Fi Rush) were closed under ZeniMax Media, but now we hear that Activision has opened a new studio in the Polish capital Warsaw. It seems as if the timing was well chosen to distract the public from the closed studios…

The company announced on its blog that it has created Elsewhere Entertainment, which is based in Warsaw but also has resources in the US. It is “exclusively” focused on creating a new “narrative-based, genre-defining AAA franchise”. There is no shortage of “storytelling experts” on staff. They have previously worked on The Last of Us, Uncharted, The Witcher, Cyberpunk 2077, Destiny, Tom Clancy’s The Division (whose new installment in development, Heartland, was recently canceled and reported by Ubisoft), and Far Cry.

Elsewhere is defined by Activision as a studio that is “first and foremost dedicated to creating an environment that inspires bold and diverse ideas” and whose “underlying mission encourages everyone to explore and collaborate creatively to build a franchise with an enduring legacy that resonates far beyond games”.

As the studio has just been founded, the game in development may still be in the very early stages and therefore several years away from release (especially as it is a AAA project, which requires at least 3-4 years). It remains to be seen how revolutionary Elsewhere’s first game will be, but the Polish team certainly has their work cut out for them. For now, all we can do is wait for more information.

Source: Gematsu, Activision