Sony Officially Removes Japan Studios From Its Developer Lineup
It’s no surprise to anyone that PlayStation is looking to the future. The launch of the PlayStation 5, though made rocky by its incessant and ever-present stock problems, introduced manny to a whole new era of gaming, and it looks like the innovations won’t stop there with a potential new PSVR console coming soon.
Sony’s eye is on the future, which is, for the most part, a good thing - but it looks like some developers are being neglected as a result.
In fact, one of the teams that produced some PlayStation favourites are no longer regarded as a part of the console’s family.
Japan Studios Quietly Dropped From PlayStation’s Developer Roster
Click to enlargeJapan Studios, the beloved team behind the likes of PaRappa The Rapper, Everybody’s Golf, Ape Escape and Shadow of the Colossus, have been quietly dropped from PlayStation’s list of collaborators.
The news was first reported by PushSquare, revealing that the removal actually took place last month under fans’ noses without any widespread notice.
The studio’s name has been dropped from PlayStation’s official list of first-party developers, unofficially confirming PlayStations newfound distance from the studio. Their name has since been replaced on the list by that of Team Asobi.
Japan Studios also assisted in the development of Bluepoint Games’ remake of Demon’s Souls for PS5, and also helped to create Astro’s Playroom, the PS-themed platformer baked into the PlayStation 5 on launch.
It’s sad to see the departure of such a legendary dev team, but it’s not something we couldn’t have seen coming. PlayStation’s focus has been on large-scale and big-budget titles, something that Japan Studios didn’t touch on until recently with Demon’s Souls.
It’s an incredible shame to see such a legendary studio get dropped by PlayStation without any fanfare. The company deserved better, and we hope that we’ll be hearing more of Japan Studios in the future.
