Will Media Molecule be closed as the Senior Producer leaves?

Media Molecule has no plans to close the studio at the moment. While Suzy Wallace follows the studio’s co-founder Mark Healey in leaving the studio for pastures new, and live support and updates are winding down for their latest title Dreams, the studio is merely changing direction.

According to current Studio Director Siobhan Reddy, the studio is working on a new project that is “exciting but too early for us to talk about.” More information on this is expected at a later date.

In the meantime, Wallace has become Development Director at Firesprite on a “new, exciting project” according to a LinkedIn post (thanks @sami_odyssey). Firesprite has multiple projects in progress right now, including three new games. These are a “blockbuster” action-adventure game, a AAA quality “ground-breaking next generation PvP shooter project with a Games as a Service focus,” and a AAA “dark, story-driven next-generation ‘Narrative Adventure’ with genre-defining goals.” It’s unknown which of these will be the project on which Wallace is working.

The post Rumors of Media Molecule’s Demise Begin as Senior Producer Leaves appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Horizon PSVR 2 game has gone gold

As confirmed by developer Guerrilla Games on Twitter, the Horizon Call of the Mountain has gone gold ahead of its February 22 release date.

We're thrilled to share some exciting news today: Horizon Call of the Mountain has gone GOLD!

Not long to go before you can step into the adventure. #CalloftheMountain pic.twitter.com/8MZ6hZnZQi

— Guerrilla (@Guerrilla) February 6, 2023

Accompanying the tweet is a short video clip showing the player hitting a gong. Players will surely be able to replicate this once the game has fully launched.

News of a game going gold is always reassuring for those closely monitoring its status. Hearing “Gone gold!” acts as confirmation that the game is in a polished state and ready to distribute. While the developers are no doubt working on improvements and fixes to roll out with a “day one patch,” the launch build of the game is at least stable enough for release.

A VR spin-off, Horizon Call of the Mountain was revealed just over a year ago alongside the new PSVR 2 hardware. For many, the Horizon VR game will be the must-buy game to accompany the new PlayStation VR headset. Of course, there are many other alternatives launching on February 22.

The post Horizon Call of the Mountain Has Gone Gold, Ready for PSVR 2 Launch appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Firesprite has a number of unannounced projects in development

Firesprite’s new studio location takes in four buildings on Duke Street in Liverpool, giving them a total of 50,000 sq ft as noted by Invest Liverpool (thanks VGC). Their current studio on Fleet Street has a floor space of just 2,259 sq ft, making their new premises more than 20x bigger in comparison. The lease means the studio will be based there for the next ten years now that they have seemingly outgrown their current location.

Firesprite has multiple projects in progress right now. Their confirmed projects include Horizon Call of the Mountain for PSVR 2 and a collaboration with Cloud Imperium Games on Star Citizen: Theaters of War. However, the studio also seems to have plenty of unannounced projects in progress too. There’s the much-rumored Twisted Metal game that is expected to coincide with the live-action Twisted Metal TV series from PlayStation Productions. They’re also teaming up with “a respected client to expand the live ops pipeline of their already established [open world] title.”

Finally, they have three projects of their own that include a “blockbuster” action-adventure game, a AAA quality “ground-breaking next generation PvP shooter project with a Games as a Service focus,” and a AAA “dark, story-driven next-generation ‘Narrative Adventure’ with genre-defining goals.” The latter is expected to have a horror twist.

In other news, a Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Remake is expected to be announced during tomorrow’s 25th anniversary stream. Elsewhere, a Final Fantasy XIV free login campaign has begun and will run until the end of the month,

The post Sony’s Firesprite Expands Into New Studio to Cope With Multiple Projects appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

What Raven might be like in the Twisted Metal show

Campbell will appear as Raven in a recurring guest star role, according to Variety. It’s not yet known how close this interpretation of Raven will be to her counterpart in the video game series, or whether she will be aiding or stopping John Doe from delivering a dangerous package across a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

In Twisted Metal: Black, Raven is a gothic teenager who is falsely blamed for the death of her best friend Kelly and ends up in Blackfield Asylum. Determined to avenge her, she joins the vehicular contest with the hope of winning and then exacting justice on the two high school boys who were actually responsible for the murder. If the TV adaptation takes several cues from Twisted Metal: Lost, we might see Raven driving a hearse and using voodoo dolls to protect people from killers.

Announced in late February of this year, the Twisted Metal Peacock series will be produced by Sony Pictures TV, PlayStation Productions, and Universal Television. Michael Jonathan, the writer for the successful Netflix show Cobra Kai, will be a writer and showrunner for the adaptation. The show will also cast Stephanie Beatriz as a trigger-happy car thief named Beatriz who helps Doe against the marauders attempting to kill him, and Thomas Haden Church as a ruthless highway patrolman named Agent Stone who enforces the rules of the road.

This TV show coincides with the Twisted Metal reboot which was rumored to be in development by Lucid Games but was apparently changed to Firesprite.

In other news, the PS1 classic trophy lists for PS4 and PS5 have hit PSN early, and the Uncharted movie has surpassed $400 million in box office sales.

The post Twisted Metal TV Show Casts Scream’s Neve Campbell appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

What we know about Firesprite’s PS5 horror game

Firesprite hasn’t officially announced anything but combing the job description for the aforementioned position reveals that the game will be a narrative-driven AAA horror adventure, which is being developed using Unreal Engine 5. “The Narrative Director is responsible for the project storytelling, helping establish and consider the game’s universe and lore, with responsibility for the quality implementation of narrative content for project milestones and ultimately the game’s release,” the advertisement reads. The description doesn’t explicitly state if this is a new IP or a game based on an existing IP.

Firesprite is already working on PlayStation VR 2 game Horizon: Call of the Mountain, and multiple reliable insiders have said that the studio has also been handed over the unannounced Twisted Metal reboot.

Opinion: Sony seems to be putting a lot of faith into Firesprite

Zarmena writes… Assuming rumors of a Twisted Metal reboot are true, Firesprite is apparently involved in three major projects. Sony seems to be putting a lot of faith into the studio, which it recently acquired. Quite a few of its members are former SIE Liverpool employees so I can see where some of that faith is coming from, but I hope we start seeing some of the work that all these new PlayStation Studios are doing because all we’ve had are acquisition announcements and not much else. What are you up to, Sony?

In other news, up to 90 PlayStation U.S. workers have been laid off, and Crystal Dynamics is asking PS5 players to wipe their campaign progress in order to fix a crashing issue.

[Source: ResetEra]

The post Sony’s Firesprite Studio Is Making a AAA PS5 Horror Game appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Why Southern is working on the Twisted Metal reboot

Southern had been working at Lucid Games since 2019 as a Game Director on their free-to-play vehicular combat title Destruction AllStars. The studio had also been reported to have been working on an “unannounced first-party flagship AAA IP for the PlayStation 5” that many had claimed was the Twisted Metal reboot, but this was suddenly and unexpectedly transferred to Firesprite at the end of last year. Southern has seemingly followed the reboot to its new developer, although as ResetEra member Toumari spotted, he has only confirmed on his LinkedIn profile that he is a Game Director on an unspecified project. Sony has yet to officially announce a new title in the Twisted Metal franchise.

His previous work also includes four of the five Motorstorm games, starting on Motorstorm as Product Manager and finishing as a Studio Game Director on Motorstorm R.C. He stayed at Sony Computer Entertainment to work on Evolution Studios’ last title, DriveClub, before the studio was closed by Sony. While there were stints at Ripstone and Mint Games creating titles in other genres, he returned to vehicular combat titles when he joined Lucid Games.

In other news, the continued shortage of components to make PS5 consoles has reportedly resulted in Sony continuing production of their PS4 consoles. Elsewhere, the latest Call of Duty: Vanguard update has introduced an Attack on Titan crossover with a new costume, weapons and finishing move.

The post Rumor: Motorstorm Director Joins Firesprite to Direct Twisted Metal Reboot appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Who Makes Twisted Metal Now?

The “recently acquired” first-party team that is now developing the Twisted Metal reboot is “almost certainly” Firesprite Studio according to Push Square. The new developer is currently recruiting for people to help create a multiplayer game and it is hoped the reboot will arrive alongside the live action Twisted Metal TV series in the works at PlayStation Productions.

Lucid Games was working on an “unannounced first-party flagship AAA IP for the PlayStation 5” but they were removed from this project (which is widely assumed to be the Twisted Metal reboot) late last year. The change was “sudden and unexpected” and the reason for the switch is currently unclear, although it is believed that the underwhelming success of Destruction AllStars is to blame. In the meantime, Lucid Games continues to work on their free-to-play vehicular combat game and a major Destruction AllStars update is due to arrive later this month.

In other news, the Nova Pink and Starlight Blue DualSense controllers are now available for pre-order ahead of their release later this month. Elsewhere, Red Dead Online fans have voiced their concerns over the lack of DLC when compared to the major updates released for Grand Theft Auto Online.

[Source: VGC, Push Square]

The post Twisted Metal Reboot Developer Suddenly Changed Before It’s Even Announced appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

James also confirmed that Horizon PSVR 2 has been in the works for a while, confirming all those rumors that cropped up years ago.

This is been in the works for a while.

I didn’t work on it, but I promise you this will change what AAA means for VR.

It’s amazing. https://t.co/nzXcWLHDoP

— chris.james (@cignet) January 5, 2022

Will Horizon PSVR 2 be a must-have PS5 VR game?

It sounds promising, then, but the question remains: will Horizon Call of the Mountain do for the PS5 and PSVR 2 what Half-Life: Alyx did for PC VR?

In response to James’ tweet, a large number of people brought up the acclaimed Half-Life: Alyx, arguing that Valve has already revolutionized AAA VR development. However, Half-Life: Alyx released nearly two years ago and game development evolves fairly quickly. Guerrilla Games and Firesprite could potentially set the bar higher with Horizon PSVR 2.

In his CES 2022 speech, Sony Interactive Entertainment’s chief executive officer Jim Ryan promised “best in class” visuals with PSVR 2 coupled with gameplay experiences that push technology and innovation. Horizon is billed as one such “unique” experience.

In other news, while Sony didn’t announce a price for PSVR 2, we discussed what a good price point would be. And we also offered our readers a specs comparison to determine if the PSVR 2 will be a worthy upgrade.

The post Horizon PSVR 2 Will Revolutionize VR, Says Former Guerrilla Dev appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Fabrik Games is the developer behind isometric stealth shooter Filthy Lucre and PSVR platformer The Lost Bear. They then teamed up with Firesprite to help them port their PSVR survival horror title The Persistence to other platforms. Fabrik was originally founded in 2014 by Graeme Ankers, the man who is now Firesprite’s Managing Director, as he wanted “to create, publish, and support new gaming experiences coming out of Manchester.” Their main role now will be to play “a key role” in helping Firesprite to strengthen the catalog of exclusive games at Sony Interactive Entertainment. Ankers said:

I’m delighted to announce that we will be bringing Fabrik Games and Firesprite together as part of our exciting next step with PlayStation Studios. They are a team of passionate and committed developers, led by industry veterans who have worked on many AAA franchises. We’re looking forward to bolstering our creative talent as we continue on our journey to offer truly unique experiences for PlayStation fans.

The acquisition brings the total number of employees at Firesprite to 265. Fabrik was working on a AAA title although details on that project are few and far between. Job posts from several months ago mention a sci-fi horror title, however this could also be a pretty good description of The Persistence. Meanwhile, rumors have been circulating that Firesprite is working on a Horizon PSVR title. The studio has several projects on the go right now, including a “blockbuster” action adventure title, a next generation PvP shooter, and a dark, story-driven next generation Narrative Adventure. They’re also collaborating with other developers on existing titles like Star Citizen: Theaters of War.

[Source: Firesprite]

The post Firesprite Acquires Fabrik Games to Help ‘Strengthen SIE’s Catalog of Exclusive Games’ appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

The rumor comes from Xbox Era co-founder Nick Baker, who has heard from insider sources that the developer is working on a Horizon VR game for the PSVR 2 headset. Apparently the game will not be a VR version of Horizon Forbidden West or the previously rumored Horizon Zero Dawn VR title. He “didn’t get told if it’s a full-blown game like Half-Life: Alyx, or if it’s an ‘experience’ like that Batman [Arkham] thing” either.

While this sounds great, it’s worth bearing in mind that Baker has a hit and miss track record when it comes to leaks and insider information. While he correctly leaked the existence of the Iki Island expansion for Ghost of Tsushima (although he called it a standalone game), he incorrectly predicted the reveal of an inFAMOUS title at last week’s PlayStation Showcase. Other rumors yet to be proven include the delayed announcement of Sony’s acquisition of Bluepoint Games and the development of a Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver remaster.

What is definitely true is that Firesprite is recruiting for more than 40 positions across multiple projects. These include working with Cloud Imperium Games on Star Citizen: Theaters of War and with “a respected client to expand the live ops pipeline of their already established [open world] title.” However, the developer also has multiple new IPs in development. One of these is a “blockbuster” action adventure title for which there were few details. Another is described as a AAA quality “ground-breaking next generation PvP shooter project with a Games as a Service focus.” This is in the early stages of development and will be a multi-platform project.

The third and final project for which the team was recruiting is a AAA “dark, story-driven next generation ‘Narrative Adventure’ with genre defining goals.” This game is being developed in partnership with another undisclosed company and they’re looking to take “atmosphere, storytelling, player agency and narrative firmly into ground-breaking territory.” The game will have 3D characters, a branching narrative, “a powerful storyline, strong character arcs, and compelling dialogue.”

At the time of their acquisition, Head of PlayStation Studios Hermen Hulst stated Firesprite’s games would be “experiences that you can expect will be quite different from the teams that you are familiar with at PlayStation Studios.” Whatever the team does produce, we’ll just have to wait for any further details.

[Source: YouTube, Firesprite]

The post Horizon VR Rumored to Be One of Firesprite’s Projects, Which Also Include Multiple New IPs appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.