The next game from LittleBigPlanet developer Media Molecule will be "risky and experimental, according to art director Kareem Ettouney.
But it may be a bit early to get your hopes up, as the studio's next project is still at the nucleus stage of its life.
"What we do is very much a continuation of our experimental... [approach]," said Ettouney, speaking to VideoGamer.com at the Develop Conference in Brighton this week.
"We like risks, we like experimentation, we like to try to impress ourselves, and each other. Without going into [specifics], because we're still very much at a nucleus stage, what we do at this stage is we just put our development hats on, and produce and draw and make prototypes, think and look at the world around us and respond to that."
A job listing published by the UK studio reveals that its next project will be another entirely new IP.
Dayum did I hit a nerve. Sorry for not liking most of this gens games coming from PS, not really doe.
Good. Something not boring, not one of those "make your own game" crap and also on Steam would be nice.
IGN writes: "Media Molecule has said the layoffs at the Sony-owned studio have affected plans for ongoing community and curation support in Dreams."
How self sustained can DREAM be when it's basically stuck on PS4? I don't think it's even gotten a PS5 upgrade. Ending support for what is essentially a game making engine is basically death. SONY did DREAMS dirty.
Staff at UK developer Media Molecule have today been told to expect job losses, with around 20 staff expected to be laid off. That's around 15-20 percent of the overall studio.
This sucks. Dreams was so amazing I was sure it was going to be integrated into PS5 in a meaningful way with the intention of fostering creativity in gamers. So disappointing to continue to hear news of that failure. Hope those impacted land on their feet and the studio finds passion in their new project...
It will also hit Naughty Dog if they dont wake the hell up from their bubble.. this is inevitable . That comfortable pillow they have been laying on since ps1 isn’t there anymore.
Mm had a whole gen to release a game.. the over confidence they got from PS3 and Vita with LBP blinded them.
I have no reason to believe to was over confidence.
They poured a lot of blood sweat and tears into Dreams, and it showed. It was exceptional by all accounts, and they tried to make it work.
For whatever reason, i have no idea why, their dream didn't come true. Maybe Sony gave them too long a leash, I don't know. But it wasn't for lack of trying. They made a fantastic creative masterpiece that...er...not enough people wanted.
Crazy
They for sure did.. but new experiences and simulators we all know are a make or break.. the risk was big and this just confirms it. They seemed so sure that game would be a success and guarantee their survival but things turned out to be very different.. they to give the fame a second breath with free VR support ..
Christ, what an idiotic post. Media Molecule's siruation is not even remotely similar to Naughty Dog's. ND released a commercially and critically game of the year award winner in 2020. That was just 3 years ago. How long do you think these games take to make?? They released The Last of Us Remake in 2022 which also sold very well. Dreams was a flop. It sold terribly. Mm's previous game was Tearaway on Vita. It also flopped. Prior to that, their last game was LBP 2 on PS3! They're lucky Sony doesn't shut them down completely.
Raider
Nothing more idiotic than your post.. there is true love and respect towards Mm for what they delivered all their games included.. every single one was a swan song! On PS4 they took a big risk and they got hurt by it and dreams was even announced at PS4 reveal!!!
In case of ND, we’ve seen nothing for 3 years, not even a Tease.. if they keep quiet longer they will miss this gen completely and end up in same situation as Mm because there is no cash flow..
@lighting/orchard:” It will also hit Naughty Dog if they dont wake the hell up from their bubble.. this is inevitable .”
Dude you’re so transparent that even with a new accounts you can’t hide your fanboyism and hatred of everything Sony
Media molecule been hit with layoffs is unfortunately and sad to happen to any company regardless of industry and I don’t wish it on any company as it’s always the hard working people that get to pay while bosses getaway scotch free and a bonus at the end of the year
ND will be fine. They aren't content creators for YouTube where they've got to post a video every second.
If layoffs hit naughty dog there has been a massive misappropriation of funds. No one should be getting laid off at naughty dog this generation.
Dreams should have been relaunched on PS5 and PC. It made no sense to launch the game on PS4 with next to no marketing when a new generation was about to start. The game had so much potential.
Not really surprised. While Media Molecule makes decent games they’re niche and take forever to come out. Sony has actually been very generous if you ask me.
"Sony has actually been very generous if you ask me.'
Sure...
In the current generation, Sony has shut down multiple first party studios, canceled multiple AAA games, and fired lots of people.
All of that while boasting their chest about incredible sales for the PS5.
This nothing but facts
I don't know about dreams as that game isn't meant for most people. I mean the casuals dont know how to make games and is it fun for them? There's a lot of potential in Dreams but it just didnt click with many i suppose.
Shame, Dreams was a cool concept and well done but it just wasn’t…how do you put it, a traditional game, if that makes sense. Spending so long on this game when in the end it felt more aimed at creators, which is fine obviously but I’d like to see something more traditional from them while another team works on the experimental stuff
I just can’t believe of all the PC ports Sony did Dreams was never one of them, the PC community might have had fun with it.
Not porting Dreams — a game creation tool — to PC was a profoundly stupid decision.
The problem with Dreams was the barrier to entry... had it been on PC, like I said with LBP so long ago, it would of soared like crazy.
My biggest complaint was the lack of support to create with friends. To my knowledge you still cannot not even create together, let alone play a game together online. How do you not support that on launch... which also leads into the barrier of entry, none of my friends even knew what the heck it was, and it was so hard to show them or get them into it.
Always suck to hear this kind of news.
Hope everything turn for the best for these affected.
looks like a 2013 release then. Hope we hear more stuff for 2012 soon. Gamescom and TGS need to deliver after a boring E3.
thatgamecomapany, Team Ico and Media Molecule are 3 of the most innovative developers out there. They never stop to follow the crowd, they make a new one.
That is good thing to hear. We need more developers that are not scared to take a little risk.
Good, I am confident these guys will put out quality
Good luck Media Molecule! I'm confident you'll create something awesome :D