| Stig Asmussen | |
| Birth Date: | 13 September 1972 |
| Nationality: | American |
| Alma Mater: | The Art Institute of Pittsburgh |
| Employer: | Midway Games (1999-2003) Sony Computer Entertainment (2003–2014) Respawn Entertainment (2014–2023) Giant Skull (2024–present) |
| Years Active: | 1999–present |
| Awards: | BAFTA Best Artistic Achievement (2011) |
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.
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.
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 .[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 . In 2022, Stig Asmussen announced a sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, .[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]
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Artist | Notes | score:"col" | Studio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| scope=row | 1999 | Gauntlet: Dark Legacy | 3D artist | Midway Games | |||
| scope=row | 2002 | Dr. Muto | Lead level artist | ||||
| scope=row | 2005 | God of War | Lead environment artist | Santa Monica Studio | |||
| scope=row | 2007 | God of War II | Art director | ||||
| scope=row | 2008 | Ready at Dawn | |||||
| scope=row | 2010 | God of War III | Santa Monica Studio | ||||
| scope=row | 2011 | Mortal Kombat | Creative director (Santa Monica Studio) | NetherRealm Studios | |||
| scope=row | 2013 | Additional art support | Santa Monica Studio | ||||
| scope=row | 2019 | Game Director | Respawn Entertainment | ||||
| scope=row | 2023 |