Strategy studio Amplitude breaks from Sega: the Endless and Humankind developer is now indie again
Development studio Amplitude has announced that it is breaking with publisher Sega to once again become a fully independent studio. This comes after eight years of ownership by Sega. Ownership of the studio is "returning to some of our original founders and members of the team," Amplitude announced, alongside, apparently, the games of the Endless universe that made Amplitude famous—Endless Space and Endless Legend.
Amplitude was founded in 2011 by former Ubisoft developers and acquired by Sega in 2016, since which it has released several games—with 2021's Humankind and 2023's Endless Dungeon being the two big releases that started and finished under Sega's ownership.
The studio announced the change in a message entitled "Returning to our Roots," which it posted alongside a statement from founder Romain de Waubert de Genlis.
"Our studio is backed by strong and meaningful franchises and our team is committed to creating the best games possible. With our extensive experiences in strategy game development and two exciting titles currently in progress, we are confident in our ability to deliver outstanding experience to players. This decision allows us to be more agile in our approach while continuing to shape the vision that has been ours from the very beginning, empowering us to push boundaries and be closer as ever of our community," said de Waubert de Genlis.
The parting of the two companies is, at least from the outside, amicable: "While we are going our separate ways now, we part on good terms and wish our friends at Sega the best for all their future projects," said Amplitude.
In the immediate future Amplitude intends to release a new patch for its most recent 4X, Humankind, which we found to be "a smart historical 4X that doesn't quite match the inventiveness of the studio's best" when we reviewed it in 2021. Amplitude will announce other future plans at its Amplified event next January.
Amplitude leaving Sega is the second major departure of a strategy game studio from under Sega's umbrella this year after Relic Entertainment's high-profile layoffs and subsequent departure that was also billed as a return to its roots.