PlayStation is closing Demon’s Souls remake studio Bluepoint Video games, 5 years after it purchased the developer.
A Sony spokesperson informed Bloomberg that round 70 staff will lose their jobs and claimed that the choice was made “following a latest enterprise evaluation.”
“Bluepoint Video games is an extremely proficient crew and their technical experience has delivered distinctive experiences for the PlayStation neighborhood,” the spokesperson mentioned. “We thank them for his or her ardour, creativity and craftmanship.”
Bluepoint specialised in remakes and remasters of older video games and had an extended historical past of working with Sony.
Sony Interactive Leisure acquired the Austin, Texas-based studio in 2021, following a number of collaborations, together with God of Battle Assortment, Steel Gear Strong HD Assortment, The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Assortment, Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Assortment, Gravity Rush Remastered, and, most lately, the 2020 PS5 remake of Demon’s Souls.
Nonetheless, it was revealed final 12 months that Sony had cancelled a reside service recreation in growth at Bluepoint, as a part of the platform holder’s tried push into the house, which was mentioned to have been based mostly on the God of Battle sequence.
In a message reposted on Resetera, PlayStation’s studios boss Hermen Hulst mentioned the choice to shut Bluepoint was made attributable to “an more and more difficult trade setting”.
“Rising growth prices, slowed trade progress, altering participant habits, and broader financial headwinds are making it more durable to construct video games sustainably,” he wrote.
“To navigate this actuality, we have to proceed adapting and evolving. We’ve taken a detailed take a look at our enterprise to make sure we’re delivering immediately whereas nonetheless well-positioned for the long run. Consequently, we will likely be closing Bluepoint Video games in March.
“This resolution was not made evenly. Bluepoint is an extremely proficient crew and their technical experience has delivered distinctive experiences for the PlayStation neighborhood. I need to thank everybody at Bluepoint for his or her creativity, craftsmanship, and dedication to high quality. The place doable, we are going to work to search out alternatives for some impacted staff inside our international community of studios.
“Whereas I do know that is exhausting information to listen to, I’m assured within the course we’re headed. Creativity, innovation, and constructing unforgettable experiences for gamers stay on the coronary heart of PlayStation Studios.”
Final 12 months, Bluepoint started hiring for a third-person motion recreation. When Sony introduced the acquisition of the studio in 2021, Bluepoint president Marco Thrush mentioned it was “engaged on authentic content material” and that it was “the subsequent step within the evolution for us”.
And following preliminary experiences that it had cancelled Bluepoint and Bend’s reside service video games final 12 months, a Sony spokesperson said that neither studio can be closed down because of the cancellations.
Bluepoint is the fourth studio PlayStation has shut down in recent times, following Firesprite, Neon Koi, and Firewalk closures in 2024.
In its most up-to-date earnings outcomes, Sony raised each its gaming gross sales (4%) and working revenue (2%) forecasts for the fiscal 12 months, which ends on April 1. Sony’s total group revenue is up 22% year-on-year.
