Sony, the owners and creators of the PlayStation and PSVR headset, are closing down their first-party VR gaming studio. This studio has been based un Manchester UK and has been open since 2015. Although the studio has never released a title on their own, the studio has been working on VR titles up until last month.
The Manchester Studio was recently posting job vacancies that they were looking to fill. Last month, they had the position of a UI Artist on the table. The candidates for the job were being told to look forward to an “exciting and rare opportunity to join an ambitious new studio to create original games for PlayStation’s VR platform.” It seems as though the studio wasn’t expecting this to come, but there were some signs leading up to the closure.
This closure has been confirmed with Sony, as it is part of the plan and “part of [Sony’s] efforts to improve efficiency and operational effectiveness.”
When the studio first launched back in 2015, the name was ‘North West Studio’, but was later changed to the well-known Manchester Studio. The team has been self-described as “small, highly experienced team, passionate about creating the best AAA VR experiences.”
There could be a few reasons why this studio closed down. Obviously it is going to be a tough job when a group of talented individuals lose their job, but it seemed as though the studio was falling behind the times. Although it isn’t confirmed that the studio had helped with other games, they have never released their own game.
With the second version of PSVR coming out some time after the PS5 release later this year, Sony didn’t want to be wasting time and resources when the stakes are as high as they are. PlayStation virtual reality is still growing. The Iron Man title is coming out soon, but the platform still needs more exclusive titles.
The Manchester Studio wasn’t doing that, and in response, Sony pulled the plug. For more VR news and gaming community updates, make sure to check back at VRGear.com.
