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Industry News
2019/11

Human Head Studios Shuts Down While Bethesda Forms Roundhouse Studios

Human Head Studios has shut down after a long run on the games market. However, comprised of staff from Human Head Studios, Bethesda has announced Roundhouse Studios, which happens to be working on a new unannounced game.

If you are questioning, “What’s up with the Prey 2 header image?” It’s simple, Human Head Studios — before it turned into the most recent Roundhouse Studios — worked on said game. The game appeared in various headlines revolving around the development studio and Bethesda.

With that said, here’s a list of games that Human Head Studios worked on besides Prey 2, like the critically panned and silent failure that is The Quiet Man, published by Square Enix:

Year Title Publishers Platforms
2000 Blair Witch Volume II: The Legend of Coffin Rock Gathering PC
2000  Rune PC
2001  Rune: Halls of Valhalla PC
2001  Rune: Viking Warlord Take-Two Interactive PS2
2004  Dead Man’s Hand Atari SA PC, Xbox
2006  Prey 2K Games PC, Xbox 360
2011  Brink Bethesda Softworks PC, PS3, Xbox 360
2012  Fort Courage Human Head Studios iOS
2013  BioShock Infinite 2K Games PC, PS3, Xbox 360
2013  Defiance Trion Worlds
2013  Batman: Arkham Origins Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Wii U
2014  Minimum Atari, SA PC
2015  Lost Within Amazon Game Studios iOS, Android
2015  Dungeon Defenders 2 Trendy Entertainment PS4
2018  The Quiet Man Square Enix PC, PS4
2018  Survived By Digital Extremes PC
2019  Rune 2
Human Head Studios PC (Epic Games Store)

Now that you know what Human Head Studios is all about, the new 2019 version of the company, now known as Roundhouse Studios, is working with Bethesda — which likely includes the publishing branch Bethesda Softworks and the developing arm known as Bethesda Game Studios — on something new.

I wouldn’t doubt that Bethesda’s subsidiaries like BattleCry Studio, Alpha Dog Games or id Software will help out with this new game, but for now, we know from gamesindustry.biz that Roundhouse Studios creative director Chris Rhinehart had this to say about the re-birth:

“We reached out to our friends at Bethesda for help, and they saw that same creativity and passion in our team. With the formation of Roundhouse Studios, Bethesda offered every employee of Human Head a position at the new company. We are excited our team will remain together, pursuing the work we love, as part of a company we already know and admire.”

Todd Vaughn, best known as Bethesda’s SVP of development, says that he’s “sorry to hear” what had happened to Human Head Studios, but he’s also excited by the opportunity to bring them “under the Bethesda umbrella.” Additionally, Vaughn had this to say:

“We are delighted that the entire staff will remain together and is now part of the Bethesda family.”

With all of that said, what do you think about this new game coming from Bethesda and the creators of Prey (2006), Prey 2 (canceled), and contributors to BioShock: Infinite and Batman: Arkham Origins?

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