The past 48 hours has seen a wave of redundancies in the video games industry, culminating this morning with the news that Sony Computer Entertainment is set to close its Liverpool development studio.
Founded as Psygnosis in 1984 and bought out by Sony 10 years later, the developer was responsible for some of the most iconic brands of the early PlayStation era, including the futuristic racing game WipEout.
There are suggestions that many staff will be relocated to other Sony studios in the country, but the Guardian is waiting for an official comment from the publisher.
In a statement released on Wednesday morning, Sony said:
It has been decided that Liverpool Studio should be closed. Liverpool Studio has been an important part of SCE Worldwide Studios since the outset of PlayStation, and have contributed greatly to PlayStation over the years. Everyone connected with Liverpool Studio, past and present, can be very proud of their achievements.
However, it was felt that by focusing our investment plans on other studios that are currently working on exciting new projects, we would be in a stronger position to offer the best possible content for our consumers.
The studio has most recently worked on a Vita version of WipEout, and carried out a lot of testing on the Vita hardware. Sony has also pointed out that only the development section of the Liverpool office is to close; its various localisation and financial departments will continue unaffected
Source: The Guardian
