Whispers are swirling around the gaming industry, suggesting Sony might be quietly assembling a new internal studio. The potential leads come from the disbanded Deviation Games. Hints of this rumor began surfacing after Twitter sleuth @Zuby_Tech unearthed a curious pattern: several former Deviation Games employees, including design lead Fred Thompson, have quietly updated their job descriptions to reflect work on an undisclosed project at Sony.
As reported by our friends at Insider Gaming, game designer JCBackfire’s recent Twitter revelation about their current employer, Jason Blundell, adds fuel to the rumor mill. Blundell, the co-founder of Deviation Games, mysteriously departed the studio in 2022, leaving fans bewildered. While the official statement offered a terse “appreciation” and well-wishes, the reason for his exit remained shrouded in ambiguity.
Blundell’s gaming experience is heavily used in the Call of Duty campaign and the wildly popular Zombies mode (once lauded by General Manager Johanna Faries as “the best-rated third mode in a decade”). It makes him a potentially game-changing acquisition for Sony. His expertise, coupled with the influx of Deviation Games talent, could see the birth of a formidable team capable of replicating the success of their previous endeavors.
The other reports of planned layoffs at other PlayStation studios, like the critically acclaimed Insomniac Games, make me distrust this rumor. However, sometimes, some studios need cuts while others need growth, so these two could have nothing to do with each other. Still, the potential arrival of a Blundell-led studio brimming with Deviation Games veterans would do a lot of good for the industry.
We’ll have to wait for anything to be confirmed, but I don’t doubt that rumors of their current project will spring up soon. Regardless, we wish them the best because it’s hard to watch a studio fail, but seeing someone succeed is gratifying.
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