Volition’s near death experience

Volition has had an amazing couple of years. They shipped the disappointing Red Faction Armageddon, then shipped the critically and commercially successful Saints Row: The Third. Shortly afterwards, parent company THQ imploded and Volition was sold in an auction to Koch Media and publisher Deep Silver.

Now, they are developing Saints Row 4 and settling in with their new bosses. Volition spoke to Polygon about the transition and what it means to create a game the tops the gonzo zaniness of Saints Row: The Third.

During the auction process, the team at Volition had to receive potential bidders at its Champaign offices, giving the competition a thorough, unrestricted tour of its facilities, its technology and its projects. Including the still-unannounced Saints Row 4.

“For example, here’s Ubisoft sitting across the room from you,” Boone explained. “And, you’re going through everything in your project. You’re talking about the budget, you’re talking about the staff, you’re talking about your process, you’re talking about your… I mean, everything.

“They’re all our competitors. So, it’s like… it’s strange. One of the ways we reconciled it – at least selfishly for Saints Row 4 – is that we knew that, in the not-too-distant future, we were going to be announcing the game.”