It looks like Sony is consolidating its UK-based studios by closing Studio Manchester, a virtual reality-focused games studio that was created in 2015 to develop VR titles for PlayStation. The studio will close this year and is the third game development studio in the United Kingdom which Sony has shut down recently. Currently, Sony still has 14 studios around the world with active projects, including three in Europe.
This will be the third VR-focused studio that Sony has shut down in the UK alone, preceded by Guerrilla Cambridge, which was shut down in 2017, and Evolution, which was shut down in 2016. Each of these studios was working on its own PlayStation VR project prior to being closed. There is currently no sign that Sony will be preserving any VR games from these studios, although the Manchester team was working on an unannounced title prior to being dissolved.
According to reports from GamesIndustry.biz, no employees from Studio Manchester will be moved to other tasks, which means a full layoff for all those working there. Reportedly, Sony said the studio will be closed “as part of our efforts to improve efficient and operational effectiveness.” Other reports indicate that Studio Manchester was looking for a new senior level designer to help coordinate a project between studios back in early 2019, but no other signs of studio activity have been seen since.
However, that doesn’t mean Sony is giving up on VR games entirely. In the UK alone, Sony still has two first-party development studios, the Sony London Studio and Media Molecule in Surrey, the latter of which was the notable creator of the acclaimed LittleBigPlanet, so it is possible that any ongoing VR projects could be ported to those studios for further development. Sony’s other movements point to consolidation in the area, as in August 2019 the company leased new space in Echo Place of Liverpool and announced the movement of 500 staff to the center. This could potentially indicate future plans for Sony’s UK studios which haven’t yet been fully unveiled.
With PlayStation VR sales holding steady, it’s unlikely that Sony is abandoning bigger VR projects altogether. But Studio Manchester may have been a bit redundant – it hadn’t produced any games in five years of development, and the nearby London Studio has already released the Blood & Truth VR game for PS4. Sony may simply be focusing on the studios that can produce results as it prepares for the upcoming PS5 release. Players should keep in mind those reports which show a new version of PlayStation VR (PSVR 2 is the popular moniker) planned for the PS5, which is intended to be more VR-focused than ever before. With these layoffs, Sony may simply be focusing on the studios that can keep up.
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Source: GamesIndustry.biz
