Activision opens fresh studio to work on new "genre-defining AAA franchise"

Microsoft has established Elsewhere Entertainment, a new Activision studio based in Warsaw developing a brand-new AAA franchise.

Tom West

Published 16 May 2024

A new AAA franchise is in the works following Microsoft's $69 billion Activision Blizzard acquisition at a new studio, Activision's Elsewhere Entertainment. The studio says it's working on a "state-of-the-art and next-generation gaming experience."

Activision opens new studio, Elsewhere Entertainment

As announced on Activision's website, Elsewhere Entertainment is "exclusively focused on creating a new narrative-based and genre-defining AAA franchise." The studio will be drawing on Activision's resources as it ramps up development on its debut game, which appears to have already been cooking something up in secret until now.

We don't know what Elsewhere Entertainment is working on, but the team is made up of "storytelling experts" who have worked on Cyberpunk, Destiny, Far Cry, The Division, The Last of Us, The Witcher, and Uncharted. According to the announcement, "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."

At a time when Microsoft has been in the headlines for closing several Bethesda studios following around 1,900 layoffs across Xbox, Bethesda, and Activision earlier this year, it feels good to write something positive about the company.

Industry News

Written by Tom West

Tom has been playing video games since he was old enough to hold a controller, experimenting with a number of systems until he eventually fell in love with Xbox. With a passion for the platform, he decided to make a career out of it, and now happily spends his days writing about that which he loves. If he’s not hunting for Xbox achievements, you’ll likely find him somewhere in The Elder Scrolls Online or fighting for survival in Battlefield.