2024 hasn’t been kind to the gaming industry. An unprecedented amount of layoffs and outright closures have impacted several game development studios around the world, that too from huge publishers like Xbox, EA, PlayStation, Embracer Group, and more.
PlayStation was recently in the news for laying off 900 employees globally, as well as shutting down their veteran London Studio, which had been developing games for the publisher all the way back from the PS2 days. And now, another Sony-affiliated studio has been shuttered, with fans bewildered at the conditions leading up to it.
Deviation Games Officially Shuts Its Doors
Deviation Games, a studio founded in 2021 by renowned ex-Activision developers Jason Blundell and Anthony Davis, officially announced closure on LinkedIn yesterday. Kriste Stull, Deviation’s former operations officer, said:
It is with a heavy heart that we announce the closure of Deviation Games, I want to express my deepest gratitude to our entire team. Thank you for all your hard work, dedication, and contributions to Deviation; I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have worked with each and every one of you.
The studio was debuted by the two founders less than 3 years ago at Summer Game Fest 2021. Along with the debut, they also announced a partnership with Sony to develop a brand-new AAA game for PS5 that would add to their critically-acclaimed portfolio “in a very, very significant way”.
Fans Blame Sony For The Closure, But There’s More To It
The news is undoubtedly a gut punch for fans who wanted to see Blundell and Davis, who were Call of Duty Black Ops legends, try their hand at a completely original project backed by Sony’s world-leading resources and support.
So in other words. They didn't want to buy his studio so they fired everyone and then bought him ?
— shadow (@xXShadow_1) March 9, 2024
What’s happening these days in the gaming industry? Sad times.
— Venom (@PalBirabrata) March 9, 2024
SONY IS IN SHAMBLES
— Thank You Based God (@Speed2550) March 9, 2024
Well that was for NOTHING (somewhat)
— ⛧albert⛧ (@ftpberto) March 9, 2024
Jason left the studio to join Sony more than a year ago…. 🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️
— Zeek (@SoulEater923) March 9, 2024
The sentiment surrounding the situation is understandably negative, but there’s more to the story than this news lets on. Deviation Games was going through a lot of internal turbulence, which may have been the reason for its closure.
In September 2022, Jason Blundell, one of the two original founders of Deviation Games, departed the studio. The news came a month after PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst visited the studio to assess the progress of their AAA project for PS5.
After that, early 2023 saw big layoffs at Deviation, with up to 90 staff members impacted. There were also some unverified claims that Sony had pulled their funding from the studio due to major developmental milestones not being met.
And finally, in December 2023, it was discovered that Jason Blundell was still working at Sony as a senior game designer, although it’s still unknown what he’s working on.
With all the above context, the unfortunate closure of Deviation Games may have been inevitable. A core founder exiting, reports of funding being pulled, and huge layoffs, all before they put out their first game, were pretty big warning signs. And in the case of Deviation, we may never find out what that game was.
Thankfully, the studio will hold a networking event for their affected developers, which was confirmed in the LinkedIn post, and we hope they land back on their feet quickly. Ambition is never a downside, but Deviation Games might have flown too close to the sun.
