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New studio emerges from MotorStorm, Driveclub creator
Evolution Studios founder Martin Kenwright, the creator of MotorStorm, announced his new studio this week, Starship. The studio's plan is to "use games to disrupt other marketplaces," Kenwright told IGN, and that Starship already began work on "several" next-gen games. The news follows layoffs that his the Driveclub developer this week, including the reported departure of game director Col Rodgers. "Historically we'd always make software for formats that didn't exist yet. What I'm trying to do is start up a new venture now, with a five or ten year roadmap," Kenwright said of Starship. "There's no point competing in the current marketplace; it's already established. It's important to set your stall out for the next generation of tech." Starship is said to be led by industry veterans from both Evolution Studios and Sony Liverpool, which Kenwright plans to leverage by "formulating memorable IPs with genuine use and need. The idea was to take some of the best gaming talent in the world and then move it slightly outside games." He wouldn't commit to any genre for the studio's future, though a racing game seems to be the obvious choice, given the former Evolution founder's history. Kenwright did add that the studio "had meetings in the automotive sector with companies and they say that some of the visions we have blow their minds. We're really out to change the game." Its first project is slated to be revealed at E3. [Image: Evolution Studios]
Sony axing Liverpool game studio, ends Psygnosis' 28-year history
Sony has confirmed that it's shuttering Studio Liverpool, more famously known as Psygnosis. The publisher was founded in 1984 and is responsible for a legion of best-selling titles including Lemmings, Colony Wars, Destruction Derby, Wipeout and the Formula One games. In a statement, the company said that after a review of its "commercially viable" projects, it's focusing on projects in other parts of the business -- after slashing the studio's remit in a cost-cutting exercise in 2010. The facility is also the location of the company's European Quality Assurance team, which will reportedly remain in operation.
Wipeout developer Sony Liverpool closed
Sony confirmed this morning that Wipeout developer Sony Liverpool has been shut down. It is currently unknown how many people have lost their jobs. MCV reports that the campus will remain open for various Sony Europe logistic services, but that the studio itself has been terminated as part of Sony's quality review process."We have reviewed and assessed all current and planned projects for the short and medium term and have decided to make some changes to our European Studios," reads a Sony statement released to MCV."It has been decided that Liverpool Studio should be closed. Liverpool Studio has been an important part of SCE Worldwide Studios since the outset of PlayStation, and have contributed greatly to PlayStation over the years. Everyone connected with Liverpool Studio, past and present, can be very proud of their achievements."Sony Liverpool began life as Psygnosis back in 1984, releasing under that name classic games such as Shadow of the Beast and Lemmings. In 1995, the studio created the Wipeout franchise under Sony's ownership, with Wipeout 2048 releasing on the PlayStation Vita earlier this year. It's not known if the studio was working on any future Wipeout games or any other Sony releases.
Evolution and Sony Liverpool studios merging, combining resources
From the "Did you know?" department comes an interesting tidbit regarding Sony's internal development studios -- specifically, the two behind last year's Wipeout HD (Liverpool Studio) and Motorstorm: Pacific Rift (Evolution Studios). According to veep of Worldwide Studios Europe, Michael Denny, it is Sony's intention to fully merge the teams, which already share a management structure and resources, in a single geographic location."Each studio has its own internal concepting group which will always be looking at new opportunities and new IPs," Denny told GI.biz, "and we'll continue to extend and innovate within our existing franchises as well." The move won't happen "overnight," but the synergy that would result is sure to be beneficial to off- and hovering-slightly-above-road racing fans. We only hope that the two studios don't fall into the same trap Team Joystiq does whenever united under one roof: hours upon hours wasted looking at funny cat videos.
