Over one year ago, Sony shut down its oldest first-party studio, Studio Liverpool. The studio was over 25 years old when it closed, founded as Psygnosis before being acquired by Sony in 1993. In more recent years the studio was best known for its Formula 1, Colony Wars, and WipEout games.
At the time, Sony pinned the studio closure on a competitive marketplace and its re-evaluation of all of its European studios. Sony also stated that “Everyone connected with Liverpool Studio, past and present, can be very proud of their achievements.” That statement may have been taken to heart by those laid off in the closing, as it has now been revealed that the studio is back in action.
IGN this week reported that many of Studio Liverpool’s former staff have banded together to create new independent development studio Firesprite. The studio was quickly founded after the closure by a core Studio Liverpool leadership team and 15 of its original 20 employees were former Studio Liverpool developers.
Firesprite’s first project since its founding was to co-develop the PlayStation 4-exclusive The Playroom along with Sony’s Studio Japan. The studio is now working on an unannounced game, though Firesprite did tell IGN that it is developing a new engine to run the game. The studio also revealed that it will not be a Sony-exclusive developer, and that other platforms including mobile will be in Firesprite’s future.