Twisted Metal Live Service Reportedly Cancelled Following PlayStation Layoffs

27.02.2024 - 18:19 / thegamer.com / Jim Ryan / Jason Schreier / London Studio / Sony

A new Twisted Metal project has reportedly been cancelled as part of today's layoffs across Sony Interactive Entertainment. The Twisted Metal game, which was said to be a live service, was rumoured to be in developed at Firesprite, a Sony-owned studio that is affected by today's layoffs.

The news comes from Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier and hasn't been confirmed by PlayStation at the time of writing. However, it would be in line with the confirmed news of the layoffs. It would also line up with Sony's recent decision-making, as it also cancelled Naughty Dog's live service, The Last of Us Factions.

A new Twisted Metal game had been rumoured for some time, with the latest news suggesting it was indeed being developed by Firesprite. However, if this cancelled live service is indeed the Twisted Metal game we'd been hearing rumours about, then it was apparently still in the early stages of development, and wouldn't have been ready anytime soon.

We're yet to see how many workers will be laid off at Firesprite, but we do know that the studio is caught up in the worldwide PlayStation job cuts. The layoffs also include job losses at Naughty Dog, Guerrilla, and Insomniac, as well as the complete closure of London Studio. With the latter, we can assume that this also means that an unannounced new IP from the London team has been cancelled, unless development has shifted to another studio.

As part of today's news, departing Sony CEO Jim Ryan shared an email that he sent to workers.

"Today, I am writing with sad news," said Ryan. "The leadership team and I made the incredibly difficult decision to restructure operations, which regrettably includes a reduction in our workforce impacting very talented individuals who have contributed to our success."

He continues: "For those who will be leaving SIE: You are leaving this company with our deepest respect and appreciation for all your efforts during your tenure. For those who will be staying at SIE: We will be saying goodbye to friends and colleagues that we cherish during this process, and this will be painful."

In laying off 900 workers, PlayStation is cutting its workforce by eight percent. It comes shortly after Microsoft also laid off staff across its various studios, cutting 1,900 jobs in total, about 8.6 percent of its workforce.