Layoffs at Evolution Studios After Onrush Bombs

I thibk it was a mistake that Sony closed evolution studios. I did not really enjoy driveclub but moterstorm was solid. Next studio to close Will be media molecule as Sony is becoming the big corporate who totally forgot their motto : for the players xD for the money!

Wow... that 1000 physical copies... That's brutal.

@Savino Actually, the 'new' idea of releasing as a 'not racing' game was note worthy - and probably the downfall of the game.

It's an interesting game-type, but it really should've been just a game type.

Those like me just wanting Motorstorm 4 would probably have pulled the trigger to play a more traditional game and have 'Onrush' as an additional MP mode.

It's such a shame, they are passionate, dedicated team.

We all wanted MotorStorm for PS4 but got Onrush instead

You're going to be seeing a lot of "Sony should hire them to make a PS5 MotorStorm" comments today, despite the fact that Sony obviously shut them down for a reason... And there's a reason MotorStorm no longer exists.

Got the platinum on the game at the weekend loved every second of it. The most fun I have had in a driving game for a long time. Such a shame that it has done so poorly. Could do with some more support maybe adding a new track or something but this will go the same way as Micro Machines with no support after release. A patch this time last year for Micro Machines even disabled a trophy which they never fixed.

Onrush should have been a budget game like R&C and Hellblade. I would have picked it up for $40 but full priced turned me away.

I’m sorry, but who didn’t see this coming?

The digital deluxe edition of OnRush was £65!!
Comparatively God of War’s deluxe edition was £53.

Should’ve priced your game accordingly. Victims of greed.

Sadly it seems most gamers want the same games over and over again like your COD's and Forzas. Onrush came along and did something different and most people complained there wasn't a finish line in the game! I am not a big fan of online multiplayer in most games but played a fair bit of this online. Also has a meaty single player campaign as well.

..the decline of the arcade racer for me came when Split/Second bombed (still to this day one of the most fun and original racers around..) after that and god-awful Blur - and the (failed) attempted revival of Twisted Metal... it's such a shame because (for me) it's still one of the most fun style of games you can buy... I'm still dipping in / out of Onrush, but the lack of modes is woeful.. even now there's still no Ranked gameplay... there has got to be a shift in releasing half-complete games otherwise not only will the game bomb, but brand-damage will mean future versions will have a harder time too... sad news all around, because Onrush feels and plays like how I would imagine Motorstorm to be in 2018... it's team-based, wreck based, bonkers fun - unfortunately people still prefer to shoot other people and zombies all day long... maybe we're seeing the slow death of original gaming by 1000 shots...

Gamers do not tolerate substandard games they only have themselves to blame.

Man that sucks but wow has the bottom fallen out of this genre.

Forgettable game, Driveclub was a shocking mess at launch, should just have been delayed.

Reminds me of Rise of the Argonauts. Same publisher (Codemasters), even worse sales (one of the biggest bombs ever released), yet a good game that deserved better.

@Fight_Teza_Fight doubt that was the reason.

@Sanquine explain please.... I hope your statement has 0 to do with cross play

@hotukdeals right, because we all know that all the games that sell well are excellent. Let's be real for a second.

@Savino Nothing new, Battle Royale, COD, BF, FIFA, NFL, NBA should i go on? Nothing new doesnt mean it doesnt sell.... 😑

@OneManDroid You didn't like Blur? Blur was great!

@Bad-MuthaAdebisi DriveClub was a perfectly playable, excellent single player arcade racing game at launch.

@hotukdeals Yet EA and Activision are still in business...

To those saying gamers just want the same games over and over, I think you're missing an important point. Games have been around for a really long time and just about every crazy idea has been tried. If an idea hasn't stuck around, it's because it's got limited appeal. We're at a point where it's reasonable that nearly all the good ideas have been figured out and now companies ought to focus on creating better and better versions of what people like. It's not like we're still in the 90s where some ideas haven't been properly tested due to hardware limitations.

Lets wait to see how Ridge Racer 8 does before we call the genre dead huh?

This is like calling portable consoles dead or VR dead due to falling sales. It just needs the right jolt.

When Mario Kart and Forza fail to sell, then the genre is dead.

The game should've been a full retailed price game and instead a £20 retail or digital only title.

@sketchturner
I have been gaming for over 30 years and never played anything like onrush or played a huge action game all shot in one continuous shot like God of War that's 2 examples in the last couple of months so no not every idea has been done. I would rather give my money to people that try something new then regurgitate the same game over and over again.

Should have made a Twisted Metal / Destruction Derby cross over instead. With George R. R. Martin writing the story while simultaneously starring as the antagonist. Plot twist is the game doesn't have an ending.

@bindiana I too support devs who think outside the box but only on things I want to play. I don't blindly support them. Same situation with 3Fields Ent. They've finally realized all people want is Burnout. Golf and Crash are fine distractions but nothing will match sales of Burnout but Burnout.

@kyleforrester87 @Kidfried @bindiana I think my point was not clear. First of all, there are of course variations on a theme. Let's look at bindiana's examples. That's all that God of War 3 is... A variation of what came before. Nothing about it is radically new, and it draws clear inspiration from many other games.

Likewise, OnRush is a variation on a theme. I've played multiple games like it before. But that's probably why you've never heard of them... Not because they don't exist but because they weren't all that popular.

I would be genuinely curious if someone can name a truly innovative, original game concept from the last 5 years that was actually fun. Creating DDR was truly original. But not even a great, unusual game like The Witness is truly innovative... It was simply a brilliant evolution of concepts that have come before.

@sketchturner
If god of War continuous shot was nothing radically new tell me which other 20+ hour action adventure game has done it? What games would you claim as similar to Onrush. Going by your logic every game is just a variation of pong.

To answer your other question a few spring to mind immediately Superhot especially in VR Polyibus in VR and Fez

@bindiana A continuous camera shot does not constitute a new type of gameplay.

I will say that Fez and especially Superhot are great examples against my point. Sure I could argue that Superhot is an evolution of FPS, but it really is much more than that.

@get2sammyb How come that Forza horizon sells a lot then When there is no market?

@Cutmastavictory i mean that since the beginning of the ps vita and ps4 Sony closed Some good studio’s: Guerilla Cambridge (due to RIG), Zipper interactive (due to unit 13) and also evolution(due to driveclub desastreus launch.

@Savino Nothing new...?

The entire gameplay is based on a completely unique idea surrounding staying together in a group and taking out opponents.

It's not a standard racing game.

My only personal problem with it is that it didn't have splitscreen. At least for me, non-splitscreen arcade-style racing titles are not typically worth it. The inevitability of the servers going down means that at some point it would only be Single Player against AI. Splitscreen allows it to live on. I was gonna jump in at around $20.

@Sanquine Ummm...Forza isn't the same exact genre as OnRush. So, it's a weak comparison. Adding in the comment by @get2sammyb about it being bundled in most Xbox consoles, and being a long running series...It starts to make sense.

Also when it comes to console exclusives, Forza is consistently good, but it rarely has to compete with other 1st party exclusives. Driveclub had wayyy tooo much competition and another 1st party racing sim company to compete with. They should have stuck with arcade racers, but even then...It's just not popular enough (clearly).

It sucks for the devs that were let go from Evolution, and of course hope they find work elsewhere, but people weren't that into OnRush. I still think it's a solid idea for what it is, but I'd be surprised if the average Jill or Joe ever heard of it...Whilst they've most likely heard of Forza.

@Neolit And somehow Motorstorm did not sell. So i dont know what fans there are?

@naruball They would’ve done a lot better if they had priced the game accordingly.

Even Sony priced UC:TLL, WipEout, R&C at £30 and those are established franchises.
A new IP has no chance unless it does something really special.

@get2sammyb - to be fair to evolution, the launch of motorstorm apocalypse was amid a set of unfortunate and unforeseen circumstances. they game was originally scheduled for release in march 2011, then delayed because of the tsunami in japan. sony pulled virtually all marketing for it, then delayed it again in the US until may, right in the middle of the month long PSN outage, when people couldn't play it online anyway.

motorstorm 4 would have been the easier option for PS4 launch than driveclub, but i would guess sony vetoed another iteration of the franchise.. not sure why they didn't think there was potential for a driveclub 2 though. would be curious to know if the studio pitched onrush to sony prior to closure, or whether it was fresh pitch for codemasters. the entire concept sounds a bit unmarketable.

Onrush got boring after about 1 hr to me. I don't trade ANY of my games in but this was the first. Oh and there IS a market for arcade racers albeit a small one. The studio gambled and lost. They lost me at the premise but I decided to give it a shot anyway, I should've followed my first mind. I'll just play gravel instead now.

i purchased Onrush and really enjoyed the game, fun and well made with a somewhat original concept but for me it needed actual racing, the continuous grinding to get points got tiresome after a few weeks....Motorstorm 5 would have been preferable for me and i believe that game would have had a bigger draw and would have sold better, hopefully somehow Motorstorm 5 will still see the light of day

Well maybe it'll be a PS+ title for August 🙋

Hmmm.... Maybe arcade style racing just aren't as exciting or as in-depth as an FPS or RPG which has stash of loot, character building and home building? I find pressing left and right, possibly brake every now and then a bit simple...

I was looking forward to Onrush before they revealed that it’s not a traditional racing game. Would’ve bought it if it had been a racer with action elements but that was not to be.

I fear that Evo is dead. They may get a publisher to back a driveclub sequel but without Sony $$ I wouldn't expect much

Driveclub was a great game in the end, it could be a great series and the sequel would fix many things. I believe it was a mistake to close Evolution Studios.

I don't understand why evo make onrush, people want evo to make new motorstorm and driveclub 2, and rather than make that with codemasters (under different name/ip of course), they make a car combat/racing game? I mean, why?

Maybe the top decision maker at evo just isn't good enough to know what the audience want.

@PS_Nation Yeah, driveclub 2 with great dlc plan and working multiplayer will sells good I think, I remember driveclub sold 2M+, not as great as gt but not bad either.

It's unfortunate. There's a highly skilled team behind the making of Onrush, but the fact is they need better direction.

The thing that made Rocket League so popular with the masses was the simplicity and uniqueness of it. I think this was the market Onrush was aiming for, but they made the game too complex and still too "regular".

As much as the media complains about the lack of arcade racing games, the reality is that most of the gamers who used to play these kind of games are simply not around. It's not what it used to be. It's a bad period in which to make expensive arcade racing games.

Onrush was not released on Steam. The vast majority of our gaming media today - both professional and amateur - are PC exclusive, or at least PC biased. Locking a game to console is risky if you are launching a new IP, since it will not get much coverage, especially by Twitch/YouTube streamers. God of War and Horizon Xero Dawn is one thing, but a racing game is a different thing entirely.

@Kidfried It also has a large existing fanbase, consisting mainly of Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon fans. A predictable consumer core is what keeps the F1, Dirt, and MotoGP franchises still alive.

@get2sammyb Sony should keep Evolution. It’s like Colonel Erran Morad says: “If you want to win, show some skin.”

@sketchturner Lol, there is a guy that replied to your post saying battle royal was not able to be done until this gen. Lol. It’s just free for all with one life and a high number of players. MAG could have done it. I really think these Devs are just shocked that BR actually has been successful and now there all jumping on it.

Hmm, I dunno, I think there could be a market for 'these games', they would just need to make a proper one. It's similar to how there was a perception there was no market for 'survival horror', not a mass one perhaps, but make a great arcade racer and I'd buy it. This game lost my interest when I saw it was not a real racing game.

@Fight_Teza_Fight I'm with Sammy on this one. While I'm sure it would have done better at a lower price, I doubt it'd sell well enough.

Onrush is so fun to play with friends Sould of priced it £30 and released it over June, July, August were not much has come out. Shame great game

@KALofKRYPTON http://m.uk.ign.com/articles/2014/12/10/playstation-uk-chief-talks-driveclub-delays-and-disappointment

I’m always saddened to see lay-offs of hard working and creative people. As for the game, I considered trying it at the right price. I’ve heard good enough things about it to give it a go for about $20 maybe.

@Kidfried I enjoyed Saved by the Bell back in the day.

@Sanquine So Evolution financially flopped with the ambitious DriveClub, Sony released them, they were given another chance to prove themselves outside of Sony's grip, yet they created another flop in the form of Onrush... Seems like a pretty good business decision to me by Sony to let them go and invest funds elsewhere.

Would have gone a lot better if they went the freemium digital only path. Or followed the exact tactic Rocket League used.

@Bad-MuthaAdebisi So? I was there at launch. The single player was brilliant. It didn't take long for the multiplayer to get sorted.

I know that was a mess and people were disappointed, but they were pretty open about what went wrong, and kept up their support schedule for the game.

People went on like it was the end of the world, as usual.

@Cycologist Man, that would be a great idea to have this for PS plus. I think it’s a realistic expectation actually as it fits the bill for what they often will give out — a decently reviewed game that has multiplayer features but underperformed in the sales department so is not really making money and needs an injection of life to the online community — a la Absolver, Trackmania Turbo, Trails Fusion, XCom 2, Killing Floor 2, etc, etc.
Unfortunately it may be a little optimistic to expect it in August since the game is only a few months old and it might create an outcry from people who just bought it for $60. Probably something we’ll get on Plus eventually next year.

@Th3solution yeah but in a year will there be any point. I'd be surprised if the servers were still on given how badly it performed. Codemasters should cut a deal for PS+ and salvage what they can. May it take off like rocket league ... But I doubt it.

@get2sammyb Sorry but that is Bull, Horizon only sells well because its bundled with consoles. You are having a laugh. It sells well because it is an amazing game that gets better every time.

@get2sammyb Well in last weeks all format game sales Horizon 3 is in the 6th spot in the UK. Still doing great business.

https://www.chart-track.co.uk/index.jsp?c=p/software/uk/latest/index_test.jsp&ct=110015

@get2sammyb So by your logic GOW4 was also part of Prime Day and was on sale but a console bundled wit FH3 sold more units than GOW4 ?

So out of the 3.73 Million copies of FH3 sold how many would you put that down to being Console sales ?