- PlayStation London Studio was founded in 2002, but the developer is being shut down today.
- This team pioneered games like The Getaway: Black Monday and worked on various VR projects recently.
- It was also behind Sony’s ambitious social hub for the PS3, PlayStation Home.
PlayStation, like many others in the industry this year, faced a wave of layoffs in the first quarter. These job cuts impacted as many as 900 individuals, with London Studio being completely shut down.
Several months after the announcements, the team has said its heartfelt goodbyes. The development team is no longer operational.
Why it matters: Sony has shut down various studios within the last few years, including Japan Studio and PixelOpus, setting a depressing precedent for its smaller teams.
The team has shared a message as it prepares to move on. Looking back, London Studio was an important part of the early days of PlayStation, helping develop games like The Getaway: Black Monday.
We’ve had one wild and wonderful journey.
The same studio also contributed to PlayStation Home, Sony’s virtual hub world designed for the PS3. Needless to say, this developer has always pioneered unique and innovative projects for Sony.
However, over the last few years, the team was mostly limited to working on VR projects. PlayStation’s lack of interest in VR after PS VR2 may have been one reason the entire studio was shut down.
PlayStation London Studio was said to be working on a live-service title with co-op gameplay before it was shut down. Following the announcement, the project was also canceled.
Sony seems more interested in retaining talent at its biggest developers moving forward. This is partly why various smaller teams have been targeted recently.
The gaming giant seems to be heading toward a risk-averse future, focusing on surefire IPs like God of War, Horizon, and more. Still, we expect Sony to experiment with smaller games now and then since this philosophy is part of its DNA.
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