It sounds like Sony are continuing to do what they presumably coldly view as cost cutting. According to Jason Schreier, often known for his insider information, and a leak shared in a ResetEra thread, Dark Outlaw Games, a studio set up by former Call of Duty lead Jason Blundell, is being shut down. It’s unclear how many people this includes at this time.
This may come as a bit of a surprise, given that Dark Outlaw Games was only set up last year. At the time of the studio’s announcement, Blundell said that it was “such a privilege to be able to do it with Sony as a new first-party studio,” and that “Sony doesn’t set up first-party studios all the time. To have that privilege is humbling, it’s really nice. I’m really excited.” The studio’s first project was yet to be revealed, though based on Blundell’s experience as the former co-studio head of Treyarch and one of the original leads behind Call of Duty Zombies, it’s probably safe to assume that it was something in the vein of live service.
More layoffs today: PlayStation is closing Dark Outlaw Games, a studio formed last year by former Call of Duty lead Jason Blundell (his previous PlayStation studio, Deviation, was shut down in 2024).
PlayStation is also making other cuts including in mobile development. Around 50 people laid off.
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier.bsky.social) March 24, 2026 at 6:10 PM
On top of the closure of Dark Outlaw, PlayStation are also apparently making cuts in their mobile development arm, with around 50 people laid off according to Schreier. This comes, so says the ResetEra post, as part of a broader shift away from mobile games at PlayStation, bar any games they currently have in the works.
This isn’t the only first-party studio PlayStation have shut down in recent months. Back in February, the company shut down Demon’s Souls remake developer (and Bloodborne remake attempter) Bluepoint Games. That, in turn, came a year after PlayStation had supposedly cancelled a live service God of War game from the studio. It almost sounds like they just can’t really get a grip on this whole live service thing! Solidarity to those affected by the closure and layoffs.
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