Sony has announced that it is closing UK-based video game developer Evolution Studios, developer of the World Rally Championship and MotorStorm titles, as well as the more recent PS4 exclusive, Driveclub.
In a statement to gamesindustry.biz, a Sony spokesperson said the decision was made after one of its “regular reviews” of the groups that make up SCE Worldwide Studios: “As part of this process we have reviewed and assessed all current projects and plans for the short and medium term and have decided to make some changes to the European studios structure.”
Last year, 55 Evolution staff lost their jobs as Sony shifted the focus away from development and toward supporting Driveclub as a service. Now the remaining staff face compulsory redundancies. While Sony has stated that it will try to reallocate people on to other projects, it admits that it risks “losing high calibre staff”.
Founded in Cheshire in 1999 by Martin Kenwright and Psygnosis veteran Ian Hetherington, Evolution Studios was responsible for creating the successful World Rally Championship and MotorStorm titles for the PlayStation 2 and 3 before its acquisition by Sony Computer Entertainment in 2007.
Its latest game, Driveclub, was announced during the press conference Sony held in February 2013 to reveal the PlayStation 4 – and was intended as a key early title for the console.
Driveclub, though, had a troubled history, including multiple delays and a lack of crucial internet functionality for weeks after launch. However, the game received regular updates until this month. In a message to fans on Twitter, Evolution’s community manager, Jamie Brayshaw, said that Driveclub “will live on” at PlayStation, and that he and his colleagues will “take a little break and work out what we’re going to do next”.
The closure follows Microsoft’s recent decision to shut the Guildford studio Lionhead, responsible for the Fable series of role-playing titles.
