Mike Kulas, the founder and president of Volition, has announced he will resign on Monday. Kulas co-founded the company, then known as Parallax Software, in 1993. In 1996, after the company split, Volition was born; the company was purchased by THQ in 2000. The 49-year old Kulas told The News-Gazette that he had been thinking about leaving since last year.
Kulas said that his decision to leave the company wasn't brought on by any particular event, despite the fact that the company announced lay-offs of 16 employees earlier this month.
Best known for their "Saints Row" and "Red Faction" franchises, the company will now be steered by Dan Cermak, Volition's VP since 2003. Volition has been at work on two new releases for each of those franchises: "Saints Row: The Third," and "Red Faction: Armageddon." The new "Saints Row" is slated for a holiday launch, while "Red Faction: Armageddon" has been delayed yet again.
Thankfully, this is only a week-long delay, forcing the newest "Red Faction" title back to a June 7th release date. The game's near-completion appears to have actually factored into Kulas' decision to leave. Though he had previously thought of leaving last year, he decided early this year to actually resign. The company's two largest franchises being completed, or "in the home stretch," made now a convenient time to go.
"It's very important to me that things at Volition continue smoothly," Kulas told News-Gazette.
Long-term, Volition is working on a game trilogy with film director Guillermo Del Toro, titled "inSANE." There have been very few details on the trilogy yet, but hopefully Kulas' departure doesn't cause any stress on the project.