Notable narrative designer and writer Chris Avellone—who worked onFallout: New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity, Planescape: Torment, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and more—has been hired by Republic Games to work on the studio’s debut project.
Republic Games was founded last year by Adam Williams, lead writer ofDetroit: Become Human, following his departure from Quantic Dream. The studio has received funding from Krafton, the Korean gaming conglomerate behind PUBG.
Dark Fantasy Story
“Chris has written, created, and designed some of the greatest RPGs of all time. He’s a master of interactive storytelling. On our list of people to work with, he was at the top.” Williams wrote ina post welcoming Avellone. “Chris was at the forefront of the golden age of RPGs. We are creating a dark fantasy story with immersive gameplay and a rich interactive narrative which aims to recapture that magic — and take it to the next level. Everybody at the studio is very excited — we’re building a dream team.”
Avellone shared an update of his own, writing, “When Adam shared his vision and design for his upcoming title, I asked if I could collaborate, and Adam was more than willing to bring me on board as part of the team. I love the design principles he’s outlining for the game, and even better, I love the narrative construction he’s implementing as well. To be part of it on the ground floor is pretty amazing, and it’s a rare opportunity to see in the industry.”
Avellone is a veteran RPG writer, having begun his career at Interplay, where he worked as a designer on Fallout 2 and as the lead writer on Planescape: Torment, a cult-classic RPG that’s often regarded as having some of the best writing in the medium.
He then co-founded Obsidian Entertainment, where he worked on Fallout: New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity, Alpha Protocol, Prey, and more. Avellone left Obsidian and became a freelancer in 2015, helping shape the narratives of Divinity: Original Sin 2, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Wasteland 3 and several other games.
Avellone was accused of sexual harassment and misconduct in 2020, but ultimately won a libel suit against his accusers for a seven-figure sum in 2023. Since then, he’s worked on Judas, WolfEye Studios’unnamed upcoming game, and now, Republic Games' debut title.
We know very little about Republic Games' debut title, except that Detroit: Become Human cast members Bryan and Amelia Dechart are slated to feature in the game.
