Axis Studios, the VFX company behind the cinematic reveal trailer for 2011’s Dead Island, has gone into administration. Per GamesIndustry, its shutdown has resulted in 162 employees being laid off.
Based in Glasgow, Scotland and founded in 2000, the studio created cinematic trailers for a number of games. Along with Techland’s zombie game, it’s done work for Microsoft (Halo, Gears of War), Riot Games (League of Legends: Wild Rift), and Digital Extremes (Warframe).
Per Scotland’s Interpath Advisory head Alistair McAlinden, the studio was losing projects recently. That, along with an “increase in labour costs,” greatly impacted Axis, whose directors were said to have explored alternatives before choosing administration.
Along with games, Axis also worked in TV and film. It contributed to VFX for Doctor Who, Netflix’s Love, Death, & Robots, and Marvel’s The Incredible Hulk.
“Axis has been a studio of choice for key production companies and has produced content for household names,” added McAlinden. “It is a great shame to see a creative business in Scotland close its doors.”
Axis’ layoffs and industry impact
While layoffs have occurred in the industry throughout the last several years, the majority of them have impacted those who work directly on the game. VFX studios are an arm of marketing, but no less important to any game.
The cinematic trailer for Dead Island was controversial for depicting a dead child, and not being reflective of the game proper. But it was also so popular that Techland tweaked the game’s content in response to reactions online, and it won an award at Cannes’ advertising festival (really!).
In the years that followed, other games would be revealed with cinematic trailers of similar style or tone (or parody). Not all of them properly reflected the title in question, but they likely wouldn’t exist without Axis laying a foundation in the first place.