Hasbro, Wizards Of The Coast Reportedly Suspension Of Studio Making GI Joe Game

In what will no doubt be a massive blow to GI Joe fans around the world, Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast have reportedly canceled a Triple-A game centered around fan-favorite character Snake Eyes, also closing its studio, Atomic Arcade, in the process.

The announcement of the layoff comes from former developer, Dominic Braun, who shared in a LinkedIn post that they are now looking for work following the studio's closure.

“Hi everyone! I have been affected by Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast's decision to close Atomic Arcade,” Braun wrote. “While this obviously stinks, there are a lot of really good people available now, myself included.”

At this time, it is unclear how far into development the project at Atomic Arcade was. With the exception of a few screenshots of Snake Eye's armor, not much has been shared.

So far, for as long-running a franchise as GI Joe has been, its video game history has been less than stellar. The last notable GI Joe-related title was Operation Blackout 2020, a clumsy action game published by GameMill Entertainment.

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Prior to that, a slew of mobile titles and a lone console game were released to coincide with the first live-action adaptation of GI Joe, The Rise of Cobra.

Atomic Arcade hoped to break the cycle of Bad GI Joe titles

Originally greenlit in 2023, the now canceled Triple-A Snake Eyes title was meant to break the cycle of bad GI Joe titles. In the end, it didn't get that chance.

“We are busy developing our first project: a high-quality video game centered around Snake Eyes, the legendary ninja/commando character from GI Joe,” Atomic Arcade's website noted.

A job posting back in 2024 noted that the studio was looking for a Sr. World/Level Designer who had experience in both open world and linear game design for a “bold and modern take on the GI JOE universe.”

Separately, film director Sean Ainsworth noted in an interview that the team drew inspiration from Metal Gear Solid for its title. Not only that, but the title would remove the cartoonish look of GI Joe in an attempt to “influence people's perception of the franchise.”