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.

Firewalk acquisition brings PlayStation Studios total to 20 developers

Firewalk Studios became the 20th studio to join PlayStation Studios after announcing an exclusive publishing partnership with SIE in April 2021. Established in 2018 in Bellevue, WA, Firewalk Studios was part of ProbablyMonsters, an independent AAA game company that builds sustainable game teams focused on original AAA titles. Led by industry veterans Tony Hsu and Ryan Ellis, Firewalk’s team has extensive experience with successful and influential multiplayer games.

In the Business Wire release, Jim Ryan, President & CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, praised the Firewalk Studios team for their expertise in creating exceptional multiplayer games and expressed confidence in the studio’s upcoming PS5 exclusive, which he believes will be a valuable addition to PlayStation Studios’ portfolio.

Hermen Hulst, Head of PlayStation Studios, expressed excitement about formally welcoming Firewalk to the PlayStation family, emphasizing their shared ambition to create meaningful experiences for gamers. Tony Hsu, Studio Head of Firewalk Studios, also expressed enthusiasm for transforming their team’s vision into reality with the support of the PlayStation Studio ecosystem.

Post-acquisition, Firewalk Studios, currently boasting almost 150 employees, will continue to operate under its existing management team, working closely with the PlayStation Studios External Development team. The transaction terms, including the acquisition cost, have not been disclosed due to contractual commitments.

The post Sony Buys Firewalk Studios to Expand First-Party PlayStation Development appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

There’s a new threat on the Horizon (3)

Horizon Forbidden West pitted Aloy against the Far Zenith human civilization, but it turned out that there was to be an even bigger threat to face in the future. The Burning Shores DLC sees Aloy travel to a new area south of the Tenakth Clan Lands to find more information on this new enemy. Without giving anything away for those who haven’t played the DLC yet following today’s release, the main story missions imply the next game in the franchise was to feature a major role for Sylens.

Of course, both the game and the DLC expansion were developed before the death of Sylens’ actor. It’s unclear whether the character will continue to have a role in Horizon 3 or how the story will be adapted following the loss of Lance Reddick. In a statement following his tragic passing, developer Guerrilla Games had said he “will be so incredibly missed.”

The post Horizon 3 Was to Have Major Role for Lance Reddick appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

When is the leaked Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 release date?

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will be released in September 2023 according to a Tweet from Todd. He then goes on to say that there will be a lot more information, “massive publicity”, and “commercials” starting in August. This does fit in with the official Fall release window, but then it’s also worth bearing in mind that neither Insomniac Games nor Sony has announced anything more specific.

Todd has previously teased Spider-Man 2 news that didn’t materialize. He also confirmed that the game would be quite intense and action-packed, but bearing in mind we have only seen the announcement trailer so far, this one is a little harder to prove. In fact, we’ve seen very little of the game up until the time of writing. Regardless, take the rumor with a pinch of salt until either Insomniac or Sony make the release date official.

The post Alleged Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Release Date Leaked by Actor Tony Todd appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

The money isn’t for Sony PlayStation acquisitions only

It all started with a Morgan Stanley conference late last month that Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki was a part of. As spotted by ResetEra, Totoki was quizzed about the 2 trillion yen the company had put aside for acquisitions, and he revealed that 1.3 trillion yen had been spent by the end of 2022. That leaves 0.7 trillion yen (about $5.1 billion) for acquisitions within the next year.

Here’s the problem: the funds Totoki is referring to isn’t for PlayStation acquisitions only. They are for the whole of Sony Group. In other words, while it’s fun speculating, it’s not set in stone that Sony will be splashing whatever it has left over on buying video game studios.

Either way, that Take-Two Interactive rumor is certainly a load of nonsense so we can safely rule that one out.

All that said, if Sony does end up buying video game studios, which it said it will, which one do you think it should go for?

The post Sony Has About $5B Left for Acquisitions Before 2024, What Should It Buy? appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Ballistic Moon comprises of former Supermassive Games leads

As spotted by Sacred Symbols podcast host Colin Moriarty, a financial services firm called PitchBook tracks data such as company financing and funding, acquisition status, and more. Over on its website is an entry for Ballistic Moon, which states that the studio was founded in 2019 and its current status is “acquired/merged (operating subsidiary).” Its parent company? Sony, of course.

PitchBook also reveals that the developer currently has 47 employees and operates in the “movies, music, and entertainment” industry. You can view a snapshot of the page below, in case Sony’s lawyers are having it scrubbed as we speak.

Welp! File this under Sony’s worst-kept secrets.

As we previously reported, Ballistic Moon developers are no strangers to working with Sony. Job listings have previously revealed that the company, which is comprised of former Supermassive Games leads, is currently working on a PS5 game code named Project Bates.

The post Sony Has Indeed Acquired New Studio Ballistic Moon, Records Suggest appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Ballistic Moon developers are no strangers to PlayStation Studios

The job advert for a ‘Senior Dialogue Designer’ based in London states that PlayStation is looking for someone to work on “major AAA projects alongside our partners at studios such as Naughty Dog, Santa Monica Studio, Guerrilla Games, Firesprite, Ballistic Moon, London Studios, Housemarque, Media Molecule, Insomniac Games, Sucker Punch Productions and more!”

The “partners” listed here (we’ve got the receipts if Sony scrubs anything) are all Sony studios with the exception of Ballistic Moon. That it’s listed among first-party developers and is the only studio that hasn’t officially been declared a first-party developer (yet) is a little odd.

Ballistic Moon staff members have a history of working with Sony. The studio comprises of former Supermassive Games leads, who have worked on titles like Until Dawn.

More recently, a job listing revealed that Ballistic Moon is working on a PS5 single-player, narrative-based game code named Project Bates.

Is Sony avoiding an announcement in light of the Microsoft Activision fiasco?

The post Sony May Have Acquired New Studio Ballistic Moon appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

When is the new The Last of Us Part 1 PC release date?

The Last of Us Part 1 will now be released on PC on March 28, 2023, meaning the game has been delayed by just 25 days from its original March 3 release date. Naughty Dog says “the additional few weeks will allow us to ensure this version of The Last of Us lives up to your, and our, standards” so that they can release a game that’s “in the best shape possible.” You can see the full message to players below.

The Last of Us Part I PC will now be released on March 28. An update from our team: pic.twitter.com/lvApDT71Xj

— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) February 3, 2023

The full message from Naughty Dog acknowledges that the popularity of the game has increased since the HBO TV series began airing last month. A spike in sales of the game on PS5 has certainly been seen over the last couple of weeks. They’ll now be hoping that the delayed PC version will also be successful. Meanwhile, episode 4 of the TV show is due to air on February 5.

The post The Last of Us Part 1 PC Release Date Delayed appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Marvel’s Wolverine will take place before X-Men

Insomniac apparently wants to avoid tying Marvel’s Wolverine to any of the X-Men movies, and they intend to do this by setting the game in a time before the hero joined the X-Men, at least according to industry insider Jeff Grubb. Talking on the Giant Bomb Game Mess Mornings podcast, Grubb said that Wolverine would not be part of a team when the game started. Whether the character joins up with the X-Men further into the game remains to be seen.

On the other hand, there’s a chance that Wolverine and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will share the same world. Grubb expects Wolverine to have a cameo or Easter Egg in Spider-Man 2, although they games won’t be too similar. Firstly, Wolverine will be a semi open-world game with a linear design that includes several smaller open-world areas. Secondly, the game is aiming for a Mature rating by including things like human dismemberment, something that isn’t entirely unexpected bearing in mind the Spec Ops: The Line writer Walt Williams is narrative director.

While Marvel’s Wolverine is currently targeting Fall 2024, a 2025 release date is looking more and more likely. We’re definitely not seeing this game in 2023, anyway.

The post Insomniac’s Wolverine Release Date Targeting 2024 With Mature Rating and Semi Open-World – Report appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

PSVR 2 launch line-up includes Horizon: Call of the Mountain

When it comes to major first-party games, PSVR 2 will launch with Horizon: Call of the Mountain and Gran Turismo 7. Both are billed as full-fledged VR experiences rather than mere offshoots of their PS5 counterparts. Looking at the PSVR 2’s games list, there are plenty of noteworthy titles like Resident Evil Village and Rez Infinite, but Jijiashvili recons that it’s first-party games that’ll carry the device.

Speaking to EDGE magazine (issue 380, via GamesRadar), Jijiashvili opined that Sony needs to show its “own first-party commitment to this device.” He doesn’t believe that PSVR 2 first-year sales will match those of PSVR, which sold 1.9 million units in 2017. Jijiashvili expects PSVR 2 to sell about 1.6 million in 2023.

Jijiashvili expressed concerns over the lack of first-party games at launch, stating that the PSVR 2 is “kind of screwed” if Horizon: Call of the Mountain is the only main first-party day-one launch.

The post PSVR 2 May Be ‘Screwed’ Without More First-Party Games, Says Analyst appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.