Sony closes WipEout creator Studio Liverpool

It's a bad time to work in the games industry, as we receive word of yet another studio closure, this time from Studio Liverpool, the creators of WipEout and Colony Wars. The annuncement is the end of a gaming era, as the Liverpool studio stated life in 1984 as Psygnosis, publishers of the original Lemmings.

The news comes following a review of Sony's Worldwide Studios, as explained in a statement:

As part of SCE Worldwide Studios, we do regular reviews to ensure that the resources we have can create and produce high quality, innovative and commercially viable projects in an increasingly competitive marketplace. As part of this 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.

While acknowledging that the studio had been an "important part" of Worldwide Studios since the original PlayStation (and has "contributed greatly" to PlayStation in the past), the time had come to close its doors. Instead, Sony will focus its investment plans on its other in-house developers, "currently working on exciting new projects".

Psygnosis was acquired by Sony in 1993 and later renamed Studio Liverpool. Its last game was this year's WipEout 2048 for PlayStation Vita.

No numbers have been mentioned as yet, but Sony has stated it will attempt to relocate staff among other studios, once Liverpool is officially closed.

2 Responses to “Sony closes WipEout creator Studio Liverpool”

1. Player Attack: Season 1, Episode 25 « Player Attack says:

   August 25, 2012 at 6:42 am

   [...] week on Player Attack, Sony, Funcom and PopCap were all hit by layoffs, studio closures and "reshuffling" (but PopCap offered a [...]

   Reply
2. WipEout franchise still ticking over after closures « Player Attack says:

   September 17, 2012 at 6:49 pm

   [...] the closure of Studio Liverpool late last month, many gamers thought that was the end for the classic WipEout franchise. It seems [...]

   Reply

Article Details

• published: August 22nd, 2012
• by: Jessica Citizen
• in: !Colony Wars, !Psygnosis, !Studio Liverpool, !WipEout, closure, Company: Sony, Game: Lemmings, Game: WipEout 2048, jobs
• comments: 2

Author Bio:

I like video games, fishing, Depeche Mode, long walks on the beach, writing discussion papers and cups of tea. Not necessarily in that order.

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