Sony has confirmed it is shutting down PixelOpus, a small in-house studio within PlayStation Studios.
In a statement to IGN, Sony confirmed the closure of PixelOpus, and said: “PlayStation Studios regularly evaluates its portfolio and the status of studio projects to ensure they meet the organization’s short and long-term strategic objectives. As part of a recent review process, it has been decided that PixelOpus will close on June 2.”
In a tweet posted Friday, PixelOpus thanked fans in a bowing-out statement: “Dear friends, our PixelOpus adventure has come to an end. As we look to new futures, we wanted to say a heartfelt thank you to the millions of passionate players who have supported us, and our mission to make beautiful, imaginative games with heart. We are so grateful!”
Meanwhile, the game studio’s senior environment artist Bob Archibald tweeted: “I like to think that with #ConcreteGenie - we made the world an ever-so-slightly better place…and not too many games these days have the chance to try and do that. I will be grateful for my time building imaginative worlds with this incredible team.”
As Engadget notes, PixelOpus was a small subsidiary of PlayStation Studios based in San Mateo, California, and was founded back in 2014. The studio is best known for Concrete Genie, a story about using street art to stand up to bullying. Before Concrete Genius, it had produced Entwined, a dual-stick rhythm game about a blue bird and orange fish journeying through space.
According to IGN, prior to its closure PixelOpus had been reportedly working on an untitled project in collaboration with Sony Pictures Animation. It’s not clear whether the entire PixelOpus team has been laid off and if the unfinished project has been transferred to a different team. Sony did not immediately respond to PCMag’s request for comment.
