Stig Asmussen

Stig Asmussen is an American video game developer, best known for his work on the God of War series for Santa Monica Studio and the Star Wars Jedi series for Respawn Entertainment. Stig Asmussen founded his own new AAA video game development studio Giant Skull in 2023 September 9.

Stig Asmussen
Born	(1972-09-13) September 13, 1972 (age 52)
Nationality	American
Alma mater	The Art Institute of Pittsburgh
Occupations	Creative director game artist game writer
Years active	1999–present
Employer(s)	Midway Games (1999-2003) Sony Computer Entertainment (2003–2014) Respawn Entertainment (2014–2023) Giant Skull (2024–present)
Notable work	God of War III Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Awards	BAFTA Best Artistic Achievement (2011)

Biography

Asmussen graduated from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh in 1998, with an Associate of Specialized Technology in Computer Animation Media.^[1] He is the son of Jes Asmussen, University Distinguished Professor and Executive Director of the Fraunhofer Center for Coatings and Laser Applications at Michigan State University.^{[citation needed]}

Throughout the God of War series, he worked as a lead environment artist, art director, and was game director of God of War III after Cory Barlog's departure.^[2] In 2011, Stig Asmussen won the BAFTA Best Artistic Achievement Award for his work on God of War III.^[3] In an interview in April 2012, according to David Jaffe (creator of God of War), Asmussen was "doing cool stuff" at Santa Monica, and did not work on God of War: Ascension.^[4]

In 2014, Asmussen left Santa Monica Studio. He has since joined Respawn Entertainment as a game director.^[5] On May 4, 2016 – Star Wars Day – Asmussen announced Respawn Entertainment was making a third-person Star Wars game.^[6] This was announced as Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. In 2022, Stig Asmussen announced a sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.^[7] Asmussen left EA on September 13, 2023, five months after Star Wars Jedi: Survivor released.^[8]

Stig Asmussen announced the founding of a new independent AAA video game studio in 2024. Asmussen revealed that the studio is currently developing a new AAA single-player game built on Unreal Engine 5.^[9] The Giant Skull leadership team, in addition to Asmussen, consists of the following: lead producer Lauren McLemore, art director Patrick Murphy, CTO Jon Carr, design director Jeff Magers, animation director Brian Campbell, and COO/CFO Anthony Scott. Although no names were given, the press statement introducing Giant Skull stated that Rockstar, the studio behind GTA and Red Dead, had also contributed talent to the team.^[10]

Works

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Artist	Notes	Studio
1999	Gauntlet: Dark Legacy	No	No	Yes	3D artist	Midway Games
2002	Dr. Muto	No	No	Yes	Lead level artist
2005	God of War	No	No	Yes	Lead environment artist	Santa Monica Studio
2007	God of War II	No	No	Yes	Art director
2008	God of War: Chains of Olympus	No	No	Yes		Ready at Dawn
2010	God of War III	Yes	Add.	No		Santa Monica Studio
2011	Mortal Kombat	Add.	No	No	Creative director (Santa Monica Studio)	NetherRealm Studios
2013	God of War: Ascension	No	No	Add.	Additional art support	Santa Monica Studio
2019	Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order	Yes	Story	No	Game Director	Respawn Entertainment
2023	Star Wars Jedi: Survivor	Yes	Story	No