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Volition Founder Leaving The Company

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by Matt Helgeson on April 28, 2011 at 02:08 PM
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Volition has wrapped development on Red Faction: Armageddon (which releases on May 31), and it's now working on gonzo open-world game Saints Row: The Third, which we put on the cover of Game Informer earlier this year (for more check out our Saints Row 3 hub). While the game has generally garnered a good buzz, today, a news story in the News-Gazette revealed that the company’s president and founder Mike Kulas is resigning from the company immediately.

Replacing Kulas will be Dan Cermak, Volition’s current vice president of product development. According the News-Gazette story, “[Kulas] said his departure is voluntary and wasn't triggered by any event. He said he intends to stay in town, has no immediate professional plans and wants to ‘clear’ his mind this summer before deciding what to do next.”

Kulas’ background with Volition  actually goes back to a company called Parallax Software, which he co-founded in 1993 with Matt Toschlog. Parallax eventually split into two companies, Volition and Outrage Entertainment. Kulas has been running Volition ever since.

For more on both Kulas and the history of Volition, check out our documentary on the history of the company.

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Comments
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  • by Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 02:27 PM

    It's sad to see him parting ways with the company,I hope he continues a successful career wherever he may go and I also hope that this does not affect the company's games in any way!

  •
    by Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 02:31 PM

    Nooo, he seemed very friendly during those interviews. I like him and hope he keeps working in the industry.

  •
    by Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 02:41 PM

    That's a shame, Volition is an excellent company and I'm sure they can continue to do excellent things following his departure.

  •
    by Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 03:08 PM

    *GASP* ..... Are the games OK?

  •
    by Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 03:43 PM

    So is he leaving because he just wants to retire or is it that he doesn't like what direction THQ is taking them?

  •
    by Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 04:00 PM

    Is this a reflection on Red Faction and Saints Row? Or is this a reflection of THQ?

  •
    by Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 04:28 PM

    Best of luck to him. Also, I'm glad to see that this is just him deciding that he needs to chill out for the summer instead of some sort of internal conflict. Super excited for Saints Row 3!

  •
    by Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 04:42 PM

    boo

  •
    by Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 05:04 PM

    Sounds like he doesn't want to be associated with saints row 3! haha jk

  •
    by Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 05:30 PM

    he gives away volition's unicorn model and leaves the company? i call sabotage.

  •
    by Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 06:04 PM

    That really is too bad. Good luck to him with whatever he chooses to do!

  •
    by Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 06:43 PM

    Maybe he's leaving because of "burnout"... been there, done that, looking for a new challenge... hopefully it isn't because of any behind-the-scenes meddling by THQ in Volition's work.

    I liked the documentary. I'm sure Kulas will do well wherever direction he decides to go.

  •
    by Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 07:55 PM

    What a shame. =/

  •
    by Friday, April 29, 2011 at 12:31 AM

    Dang this sucks. He was cool guy and it seemed like he loved being at Volition. Maybe he'll come back someday.

  •
    by Friday, April 29, 2011 at 01:07 AM

    Right after finally reading some good news about PSN possibly going back online I get this. This is so sad. I hope this doesn't change Volition's scope. And I hope this isn't the last we see of him.

  • by Friday, April 29, 2011 at 04:43 PM

    Kulas has usually been pretty good at seeing the future of the industry...I think he sees THQ's.

  • by Friday, April 29, 2011 at 09:35 PM

    Kulas, keep up the exceptional work.

    May your endeavors suit you well!

  • by Saturday, April 30, 2011 at 10:55 AM

    I hope he starts a new company. Volition is a fine studio nowadays, but I'm sure they could use a sister studio to handle stuff like new Descent titles or DLGs or new IP's and stuff. With so many studios closing down these past few years (though so far, 2011 hasn't been that bad, thankfully), it would be nice to see an industry vet like this guy actually help start up a new one...

    Good luck to whatever he ends up doing though:)

  •
    by Sunday, May 01, 2011 at 02:42 PM

    I wish it were possible for me to take some time off to clear my mind for more than a few days...

  •
    by Thursday, May 05, 2011 at 10:48 PM

    I hope he continues to start another development company