Former Sony UK Dev On PlayStation’s 1st Party Studio Closures: ‘It’s Business, Unfortunately’

It gets lost because of the sheer volume of studios and first party games that Sony has, but they have actually been shutting down more and more studios over the last few years.

[AizenSosuke]

Sad times indeed.

[UCForce]

Peace to the Fallen. Well, at least their game RIGS is completed. Thank You, GC. For everything.

[Nitrowolf2]

Ugh, i really liked cambridge, they in my opinion made one of the best Killzone titles

And RIGS is great

[Kiwi66]

"It's business, Unfortunately" that is true no matter the company

[CapitalGamerNZ]

Completely agree. None of these companies are in it for the goodwill.

[game4funz]

Second that notion.
It seems many fans forget what it comes down to, business.
And thats the case with ALL studios closed on ALL platforms.

[XanderZane]

Yeah, I believe Microsoft said the same exact thing when Scalebound was cancelled.

[xDealtwithIt]

Thank goodness no one's job was lost when Scalebound was cancelled.

[Liqu1d]

@xDealtwithIt Everyone at Lionhead lost there job when they cancelled Fable so be be quiet.

[Gazondaily]

"@xDealtwithIt Everyone at Lionhead lost there job when they cancelled Fable so be be quiet."

Learn to read. Did he mention Lionhead? Lol the anger....

[XanderZane]

@xDealtwithIt
Yes and it's because Platinum Games have 3 teams of developers. So they just spread them out to their other games.

@Liqu1d
He was talking about Platinum Gamers and not Lionhead Studios.

[Automatic79]

Hope all the employees have found adequate positions.

[kevnb]

Yup, cutting back on handheld and vr gaming focused studios...

[Genuine-User]

What are you talking about? Sony opened a new studio specifically for VR.

[kevnb]

When? Only recent news I can find is layoffs and studio closures. Sony London had a ton of layoffs and guerilla Cambridge was closed... that's pretty much it. What imaginary studio are you talking about?

[Genuine-User]

North West Studio in Manchester
History: New studio - Focus on VR Games
Playstation 4 Projects:
--> working on a VR Game
--> brand new IP
--> Unreal Engine 4
--> Studio Ghibli Style?

https://www.vrfocus.com/201...

As for Sony London, layoffs/shrinkage is part of team downsizing at the end of a production cycle, rather than any backpedaling on the publisher's commitment to VR.

http://www.gamesindustry.bi...

[kevnb]

they set those guys up in May 2015, wouldn't be surprised if they get axed next...

[Genuine-User]

@kevnb

"they set those guys up in May 2015, wouldnt be surprised if they get axed next..."

Classical informal fallacy.

[kevnb]

you are one to talk, they set up a studio nearly 2 years ago that has shown us nothing, but that somehow cancels out what they have done recently?

[yeahokwhatever]

wait, they're making a full london heist game?!

[Gazondaily]

Damage Limitation 101

[Tigerblud]

Why invest in VR and Vita if PS is going to cut a studio as soon as a game fails?

[Pintheshadows]

In the wake of Brexit a lot of companies panicked and then bolted like horses. This is likely a result of that. Guerilla has a massive office in Amsterdam so it makes sense that Cambridge would fold in there. It is a very short trip.

[Muzikguy]

I can only think of one company that "cuts a studio as soon as a game fails", but believe what you want

[WeAreLegion]

Or right before it has a chance to fail. Haha.

[Muzikguy]

It does suck when these things happen, but it doesn't take away from the reality of it

[rainslacker]

I don't think the output from this studio has ever failed. They weren't AAA devs, just made mid-tier titles mostly. Usually good ones. So, it likely was business, and it was cheaper to make those game through another studio in WWS, or they now have another studio to make those games.

[Donnie81]

Should have let them do a new midevil. Sir Daniel Fortesque really needs to be revived sooner rather than later. Good memories and the best of luck to these guys in the future

[xDealtwithIt]

Sad that it had to be a VR studio that made the only worth while attractive game for PSVR.

[marquisray]

Why no love for Microsoft man o man double standards

[Liqu1d]

Everyone knows it's business, but that doesn't mean it's good or people have to like it.

[ShadowWolf712]

GC makes one VR game before they close and suddenly all VR studios are shuttering.

Never change, N4G commenters.