Endless and Humankind developer Amplitude Studios breaks from SEGA, returning to being independent

Founded in 2011 by former Ubisoft staffers and purchased by SEGA in 2016, Amplitude Studios has announced that they are a fully independent studio again. During their time under SEGA’s umbrella, the studio released several games including Humankind and Endless Dungeon, as well as a free game titled Endless Zone which was their take on Fantasy Zone. The announcement was made in a message titled “Returning to our Roots”, which included a statement from founder Romain de Waubert de Genlis.

SEGA delays HUMANKIND console release “until further notice”

Citing “unique challenges”, SEGA Europe has announced that the PlayStation 4/5 and Xbox One/Series console releases of HUMANKIND has been delayed until further notice. Developed by Paris based Amplitude Studios, which is owned by SEGA, HUMANKIND released to PC in 2021 and is a turn-based strategy 4X game. The game was set for consoles in November 2022 but now that is no longer the case.

I’ll admit, here at SEGAbits we struggle to cover the SEGA Europe PC strategy games. Maybe it is because they feel so far removed from what we come to expect from SEGA? Still, a console release was something we were anticipating and it is a shame the game saw a setback. SEGA will share a new release date when they can.

SEGA and Amplitude Studios unveils HUMANKIND, a game about building humanity’s civilization

The mysterious “HUMANKIND” has finally been properly unveiled, after several days of SEGA’s official Twitter account teasing the announcement. HUMANKIND is a brand new strategy/god game developed by Amplitude Studios and published by SEGA. Comparable to games such as the Populous or Civilization, you’re tasked with trying to evolve the human race from the stone age to the modern age, while also boasting about the freedom to choose how you evolve humanity. The wording also implies that there will be multiplayer elements, allowing players to pit against each other. The official website promises the following:

  • One Million Civilizations: Create your own civilization by combining 60 historical cultures from the Bronze to the Modern Age. Each culture brings its special gameplay layer, leading to near-endless outcomes.
  • In The Eyes of Posterity:  Every great deed you accomplish, every moral choice you make, every battle won will build your fame. The player with the most fame will win the game.
  • More Than History, It Is Your Story: Face real historical events, lead renown figures, and make scientific breakthroughs. Discover the natural wonders of the world or build the remarkable creations of humankind.
  • A Tactical World: Show off your tactical skills by mastering terrain elevation with city-building and tactical battles. Call upon your allies to transform a battle into an eight-player world war!

HUMANKIND is currently slated for a TBA 2020 release date, with the game planned for a release on Steam.

Endless Space 2 releases today for Windows and Mac

The Amplitude Studios developed Endless Space 2 sees its full release today on Windows and Mac. The turn-based strategy sci-fi game is a sequel to 2012’s two-time Unity-award winning Endless Space. As of July 2016, Amplitude Studios is a fully owned subsidiary of SEGA, meaning Endless Space 2 is a franchise fully owned by SEGA!

While the game has been available via early access since October 2016, today marks the full official release. The game is available on Steam and Amazon, and is available in two digital editions: the standard edition of Endless Space 2 for $39.99 and the Deluxe Edition of Endless Space 2 for $49.99 which includes a digital soundtrack, the “PATHFINDER” hero ship skin and “PATHFINDER” academy heroes Brunem Berto-Lancellum and Kinete Muldaur.

SEGA has acquired Amplitude Studios

AmplitudeSEGASEGA has announced today that they have acquired French developer Amplitude Studios. Amplitude Studios is responsible for the Endless franchise which span different genres but known for its turn based strategy. Amplitude Studios is working on Endless Space 2 which is set to hit Steam Early Access later this year.

Amplitude Studios wrote this about joining SEGA on their developer blog:

“Of course you could wonder, “Why Sega?” If you were to ask just Mathieu and I, we could easily answer with the words “Creative Assembly and Relic!” because we are HUGE fans of their games. The opportunity to join them is incredible for us, a real dream come true.

But the bigger reason why we wanted to join SEGA was how they treat their internal studios. Often, studios are controlled by a central department that dictates what games they should do, and how and when. But SEGA is a company that offers its support to the creators, positioning itself as a service provider, helping studios to reach their goals with only one objective in mind: Quality!”

SEGA Europe President and COO Jurgen Post had this to say about Amplitude Studios:

“To have the opportunity to add a studio with the growing reputation of Amplitude’s, to the SEGA family, is an exciting one and reinforces SEGA Europe’s position as a market leader in publishing high quality PC games,”

What are your thoughts on the latest acquired studio by SEGA? Do you think they did the right move tapping into the indie market? Let us know in the comments below.