PlayStation has shut down Dark Outlaw Games just a year after announcing the studio under its PlayStation Studios banner, bringing an early end to a project that had not yet reached release, while also making layoffs across its mobile division as part of a broader shift in strategy.
The studio was led by Jason Blundell, known for his work on Call of Duty Zombies, and it was still in the early stages of development, which means it never shipped a game before PlayStation decided to pull the plug.
Studio closure and layoffs confirmed
Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier confirmed the shutdown and shared details about the layoffs.
This marks the second time a PlayStation-backed project involving Blundell has ended before release, following the earlier closure of Deviation Games.
Reports also point to “an unspecified number of layoffs” across PlayStation teams in the US and UK, although the scale appears limited beyond the mobile division.
At the same time, PlayStation is scaling back its efforts in the mobile gaming space, while continuing support for a few existing and announced titles.
According to early reports, the company plans to support games such as MLB The Show Mobile, Ratchet & Clank: Ranger Rumble, and upcoming NCSOFT titles, but will reduce its broader mobile ambitions to “focus our efforts on a few select high impact projects.”
There has been no official statement from Sony or PlayStation so far, and more details are expected as the situation develops.
It is another unfortunate round of layoffs in the video game industry, following the news that Epic Games has let go of over 1,000 employees amid the current challenges faced by Fortnite.
