Housemarque, the Finnish game development studio, has announced that after a significant 14-year stint, Harry Krueger is leaving the company. Krueger, who is known for his direction on games such as Returnal and Nex Machina, expressed great appreciation for his time at Housemarque and noted that each project was a dream realized.

Krueger’s collaboration contributed greatly to the growth of the studio, which moved from arcade games to ambitious projects such as Returnal. He described his departure as a difficult decision but said he was enthusiastic about the future of both the new projects and the strong team remaining at Housemarque.

Ilari Kuittinen, co-founder and CEO of Housemarque, highlighted Krueger’s important impact on the development of the studio. Under his leadership, Housemarque surpassed several milestones, including the rebirth of the arcade genre symbolized by Returnal’s success. Kuittinen sees this moment as an ideal opportunity for new leadership to take over and continue building on the foundation created by Krueger.

Housemarque is now preparing to embark on a major new project: Kuittinnen stated that they are planning to create “the next big hit” from Finland while carrying forward their legacy and innovations introduced during Krueger’s era. The Finnish studio has been supported by Sony since 2021 when it absorbed them as an internal team.