A Red Faction sequel was in the works at the Embracer-owned developer of Galaxy On Fire and Chorus before it was hit by layoffs, according to a new report. Rock, Paper Shotgun reported that Fishlabs, bought by controversial video game group Embracer in 2018, was working on a sci-fi Metroidvania and had built a “visual prototype” for a brand new Red Faction game before both projects were canceled and their developers laid off in 2023. Embracer had already shut down the original creator of the cult classic Red Faction, Volition , by the time Fishlabs put together its Red Faction pitch.
According to RPS, a team at Fishlabs built a “fake trailer” with Unreal Engine 5 to present to Embracer-owned publisher Plaion, with the hope of creating a game similar to 2009’s well-received Red Faction: Guerrilla . Critics praised that game for its huge open world and, in particular, impressive destruction-based gameplay that saw players smash up buildings with a sledgehammer. A sequel, Red Faction: Armageddon , followed in 2011, but sales were poor and then-publisher THQ canceled further follow-ups.
Red Faction: Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered , a remaster of Guerrilla, launched in 2019. Unfortunately, despite the pitches to Plaion, this new Red Faction was not greenlit, and in November last year it was canceled outright. According to RPS, Fishlabs studio leadership were told to lay off almost everyone not attached to an active game project, resulting in 50 job losses.
The RPS article is we.
