Update: All the attention on John Baustita's Twitter account earlier today prompted him to come out and make a comment. In a follow-up message, he explained that he left Sony's unannounced San Diego studio due to "personal circumstances", and as far as he's aware the team still exists:
Now we wait for the platform holder to acknowledge the group's existence, and actually make some announcements about what it's working on.
Original Story: For the past few years, Sony has been hiring for a secret studio in San Diego, adjacent to its Visual Arts Services Group. This team, according to job listings, was established in order to collaborate with a major first-party studio, which many believed to be Naughty Dog. In fact, with a number of ex-Uncharted creators recruited, it was widely assumed that the team was working on the next story in the buccaneering brand – presumably timed to release alongside the upcoming movie.
That studio, however, may be no more. Quentin Cobb, one of the first high-profile names to join the team, apparently departed the studio this month. In addition, fellow senior game designer John Bautista shared the following ominous message:
Not all hope is lost, though. A number of employees still list the studio on their resume as active roles, although it may be that they’ve just not got around to updating their LinkedIn pages yet. Similarly, the studio is still recruiting for positions, like Senior Gameplay Programmer. Either these job posts need to be taken down, or the team still exists.
To be honest, we’ll probably never know what went on here. The studio was never officially announced, so if it has closed, then Sony won’t comment on that either. We’re probably just going to have to wait and see if a project ever materialises out of this group.
[source linkedin.com, via twitter.com, neogaf.com]
Comments 46
Strange... With MS buying up so many studios I'd have thought Sony would try to hold onto all they currently have. Will be interesting to find out what's actually happened here.
@pip_muzz Depends, if the project wasn't going well then sometimes you have to cut your losses. Unless this game actually comes out, I doubt we'll ever know what happened.
So, we know something is happening there but we don’t know what. It’s like Area 51, maybe this is Area 5.1? Since we are in Sony’s fifth generation.
Look, I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but having read this one article I am convinced they are testing alien technologies there for use in future iterations of Sony hardware.
You can’t convince me of anything else!
Very strange, Quenton cobb still have on his Twitter bio that "working on top secret project" but on his LinkedIn profile he left the secret team this November. O_O
I hope the uncharted series will continue. 😔
Just because 2 people left, it means a whole studio closed?
Seriously Sammy, of all the journalists on this site, you're the most illogical. 95% of the time, what you say makes no sense.
No matter what’s going on here, I just hope a new Uncharted is coming to PS5. I’d even take a remaster of Golden Abyss since it’s the only game in the series I never played.
I read this as he quit / got sacked. Not that the entire studio closed down?
Maybe their roles in said project have been fulfilled?
@JRRR92 How can you know if the studio is still exist if we don't know what is going behind the scenes ?
While it won't be the first time Sony shuts down a newly-founded studio without shipping a single title (RIP Manchester Studio), I wouldn't imply for now that the studio is shutting down.
Two people departed, and yes, a creative director leaving a studio in the middle of development is not usually a good sign (like 343), but it's not the end of the world for the project or the studio. I see people speculating that it is shutting down and while it IS a possibility, rn it feels like a bit of a stretch based on the information we have.
As for the studio itself, my best wishes to the departing employees. I do hope things are going well and this is not reflective on the studio as a whole, or that at least things will get back on the road. It sounds like a very ambitious title by a very talented and experienced personnel, and I hope we will see it in the coming months.
Getting a new studio up and running was probably quite a bit more challenging in 2020. Not assuming complete shutdown unless things don't turn back to "normal" anytime soon.
@pip_muzz It's not about the studio, but the games. If that studio can't make a great game, why should sony keep it. I hope it's just one guy leave though, and the studio still finishing their games
Hopefully they all find work soon.
@get2sammyb You should update the article with the designer's reply https://twitter.com/JustCallMeBau/status/1333073627126775809
Read his comment to his own tweet he left not the studio closed
@JRRR92
Even one of the guys who left says "Just to clarify, I made the decision to move on due to my own personal circumstances. AFAIK the studio is still there and the project is still ongoing." Why this site thinks the studio closed is the real mystery. Perhaps to drum up controversy before another article assuring us all is well?
I read this more as maybe the studio closed but maybe it's still there as plenty of people still seemed to be attached but maybe we won't know for awhile.
Not sure I get the Sammy hate.
@RazielReaper director's leave studio's mid game all the time, it just doesn't get reported on unless it's super high profile. It also doesn't speak to the game itself. A game is not made by 1 person and while a director can shape a game they don't really set it's actual direction unless they are an independent studio. 1st party studio's work different than independent ones. That's why so many people at big companies leave to form new indie studio's.
There's no way they won't release a new game to coincide with the movie. It's definitely coming.
Well duh... Sony San Diego doing Mlb The Show 2021 for those ******* Xbox and Nintendo
@God_of_Nowt no I understand it appears more info has come out since this was first written but like, in just the first few comments you have "what is he talking about?! He's an idiot who's always making stuff up"
Wasn't really referring to the one person who'd tagged him up to that point.
Edit: To be clear i don't actually care what happened one way or the other. Just didn't think the author's musings warranted criticism. Really didn't seem that serious.
Honestly even before others linked to the clarification I didn't get the impression that the studio was shutting down at all from that tweet.
To be honest I'd rather see a 60fps patch for 4, would transform the game
@rjc-32 Huh? You'd rather see a 60fps patch than a whole new Uncharted game (presumably at 60fps)?
@Madvibes Please be more respectful with your posts. That sort of language is not acceptable.
@ILikeStake Yeah, 4 was clunky to play and wasn't as enjoyable. The open areas would play better at a higher framerate. Not really bothered for a new one either, won't be the same without Nathan. I'd actually prefer to see Naughty Dog create a new IP, with a cartoon/platformer style akin to Jak.
Well, somebody jumped the gun.
@rjc-32 I agree that it would play better at a higher framerate, but every Uncharted before 4 was also at 30 (or lower), so not sure why you feel that 4 is clunky. I love Uncharted and would be totally happy with a Chloe focused story line that builds upon Lost Legacy. 60fps Uncharted will be awesome but I'd rather a new game taking advantage of all PS5 features like the dualsense!
Maybe they were working on a title for PS4 and then are now working on it for PS5. New team, inexperienced so it's taking time to port it to PS5 and utilise the power. We saw how long it took Bend, a relatively experienced team to get Days gone looking fine and polished.
@ILikeStake The first 3 were more "corridor" based shooters, you'd almost always have cover and could clear enemies and be safe behind you, this compensated for the laggy controls/framerate. 4 was more "open world" style (in each area), I found that you got surrounded more often and the motion/controls were very laggy, made parts frustratingto play. Ratchet and clank on PS4 was the same, the PS2 versions are far superior. I'm glad this generation is finally giving the option to choose framerates or fidelity, keeps both sides happy.
They may of decided to merge studios to make a 'bigger' studio rather than have 2 separate studio's. Not necessarily scrapping the game an could, for example, merge two studio's to carry on making that game whilst also making another - so instead of getting 1 game every 3-4yrs, that studio releases a game every couple of years.
In merging, certain positions maybe already occupied or just not needed anymore. Maybe some people were not happy, willing or able to part of Sony's new plans - whatever they may be. Point is, its not necessarily 'doom & gloom' - wasting money on creating a studio only to scrap it and whatever project they were working on. It could be positive, move the majority of staff to an existing studio to build that up instead, have the staff in place to push projects through quicker...
@Classic_console Literally can ask you the exact same question but for not existing. You see the issue now?
@God_of_Nowt The biggest issue is, why make this article in the first place? All of this is based on nothing. It's clickbait.
poor management and leadership will have been the problem as usual
@JRRR92
To be fair, it's not just this site. Gaming news is more about speculation than facts unfortunately.
Tabloid sort of news which makes it necessary to try find the sources and compare different 'reports'.
Don’t worry folks, I’m sure Knack 3 is coming along fine.
@nessisonett Can't wait for the next Knack, rated M!
WTF guys? Who runs this site? Is there zero editorial oversight?
Bautista ONLY had to explain BECAUSE of this article, which insinuated that because two people had left since its inception that meant the studio was dead. That's not reporting, that's baseless speculation trying to manufacture a story.
This is sloppy work all around.
@GeneJacket Sammy’s the editor. Pobody’s nerfect.
@Kienda i knew it...that coil whine is the ps5's flux capacitor starting up...quick back to the future..
@nessisonett Pobody's Nerfect, indeed...but, damn...there's reporting bad information, then there's just making sh*t up wholecloth to back a narrative you're trying to create.
There's no "anonymous sources claim the studio is dead" or "Contacts within Sony, who wish to remain nameless...etc" caveat, there's no basis in reality for the claim at all.
The span that the conclusion was jumped to that "two people at a secret studio no one is supposed to know about, working on a project that doesn't officially exist yet, quit so the studio MUST be dead" is the size of the damn Pacific.
Gaming journalism strikes again.
@GeneJacket It's not sloppy at all. His intentions were clear.
When someone writes AFAIK does anyone else say "AFAIK" out loud or does everyone know it's short for "As Far As I Know"? Asking for a friend...
not a good look guys.
I’ve been a bit disappointed lately with PushSquare articles trying to spur doubt & uncertainty for gamers in this already stressful time. With stories of misplaced deliveries, to promoting a non-widespread “PS5 coil whine issue” (see user polls) & now falsely suggesting a studio may be closing with the future of the Uncharted series in jeopardy...I consider this a reputable site overall, but I think you need to fact check better or just wait to post these kind of stories if you don’t have any inside sources to back up the claims.
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