Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan announced today that the company is laying off 900 PlayStation employees, or around eight percent of the company, which will affect a number of its first-party game studios. This includes the closure of Sony’s London Studio, which created VR action-adventure game Blood & Truth (2019).
Ryan announced the news in a company-wide email today, noting that layoffs will affect a number of PlayStation studios across across the Americas, EMEA, Japan, and APAC.
The email wasn’t specific on where the layoffs will occur, with employees in the US expected to be notified today at some point. In the UK, the company says PlayStation’s London Studio will “close in its entirety.”
As the studio behind PSVR exclusive Blood & Truth, PlayStation’s London Studio was last working on an unannounced online co-op combat game, set in modern fantasy London. It’s expected the game is now cancelled as a result of the studio’s closing.
Ryan says headcount reductions will also affect Firesprite, the studio behind the Horizon franchise, including PSVR 2 exclusive Horizon Call of the Mountain.
This follows recent news that Sony is making PSVR 2 officially compatible with PC VR games, as the company hopes to release some sort of PC support for the headset later this year. Reading between the lines somewhat, it seems Sony is strategically scaling back on first-party content right now, which means an uncertain future for the sort of anchor content PSVR 2 needs as its heads into its second year.
This story is breaking. We’ll be updating soon once it’s more clear exactly which studios in the US are also involved.
Every weekend VRFocus gathers together vacancies from across the virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) industry, in locations around the globe to help make finding that ideal job easier. Below is a selection of roles that are currently accepting applications across a number of disciplines, all within departments and companies that focus on immersive entertainment.
Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there’s always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hubto check as well.
If you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to Peter Graham (pgraham@vrfocus.com).
We’ll see you next week on VRFocus at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.
The virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) industries are wonderfully diverse when it comes to the job roles available, always looking to hire the best talent to work on exciting projects. Whether you’ve been an avid fan of the tech for a while or are already involved in some way, today’s VR Job Hub has plenty of new roles which can help you become more involved and shape VR/AR’s future.
Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there’s always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hubto check as well.
If you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to Peter Graham (pgraham@vrfocus.com).
We’ll see you next week on VRFocus at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.
The 23rd annual D.I.C.E. Awards were held this week and there were some surprising winners and losers across the various categories, not least the virtual reality (VR) sections. While big-name titles like Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding only took home two awards from eight nominations, Cloudhead Games and Sony London Studio were the big VR winners from the event.
In the category of ‘Immersive Reality Technical Achievement’, Asgard’s Wrath, Blood & Truth, Pistol Whip, Stormlandand Westworld Awakening were all nominated. Blood & Truthwas the eventual winner.
One of VRFocus’favourite PlayStation VR titles of 2019, Blood & Truth mixes high action gameplay with a tightly woven storyline and cinematic cutscenes as you play a Special Forces officer trying to take down a crime lord. It got a full five-star review: “While you don’t have the freedom of Borderlands 2 VR for example, with Blood & Truth you have a far more focused videogame that knows what it wants to achieve, and that’s put a smile on your face. From start to finish Blood & Truth is one hell of a ride, a finely choreographed John Woo movie that’s all about sheer entertainment.”
The other category was ‘Immersive Reality Game of the Year’ with Asgard’s Wrath, Blood & Truth, Pistol Whip, The Curious Tale of the Stolen Petsand Trover Saves the Universe all up for the coveted award. That went to Cloudhead Games’ rhythm-action shooter Pistol Whip a videogame which has received lots of positive feedback from players. VRFocus’ review went onto say: “Pistol Whip is huge amounts of fun even on the easiest difficulty setting, suitable for VR players no matter their skill level.”
Pistol Whip arrived in November 2019 supporting Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index and Windows Mixed Reality headsets. December saw the studio release the “High Priestess Update” adding a new scene and updating the modifiers. Cloudhead Games recently released a new scene called “Akuma”, inspired by the Neo-Tokyo of anime action classics like Akira and Ghost in the Shell. The update also laid the groundwork for monthly content updates, each including a free new scene, leading up to the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2020.
The road toUploadVR’s Best of 2019 awards starts here! Every weekday for the next fortnight, we’ll be revealing one of the ten nominees for our Overall VR Game/Experience of the Year, counting down to the reveal of our full list of categories and nominees later in December. Today we’re looking at Blood & Truth, the follow-up to London Heist that delivered a true PSVR-exclusive blockbuster action romp.
Back when the PSVR first launched it released alongside a game collection that delivered handful of demo experiences that served as a gateway to what was possible with a new medium like VR. The most popular of the bunch, London Heist, was a brief first-person shooter about a robbery gone wrong full of amazing facial capture animations and thrilling shoot outs. That demo package’s developer, Sony’s London Studio, then expanded on the concept into a full game, which became Blood & Truth.
When I reviewed Blood & Truth earlier this year I honestly approached it with a bit of trepidation. It’s not so much that I wasn’t looking forward to the game, but demo events I had attended left me concerned about the movement system, the lack of analog sticks on the PSVR controllers, and how linear it all seemed.
Luckily, once I got my hands on it and actually played the finished game for myself, I was able to appreciate how well everything came together.
I still think Blood & Truth would have been better on more advanced hardware, but it was still one of the best VR games this entire year. The action is relentless and the slower moments were a welcome respite that allowed for a surprising amount of character progression and narrative depth. It’s also gotten a steady stream of updates since launch to continue increasing its value offering even further.
Perhaps more so than any other VR game we’ve played this or any other year, Blood & Truth really emulates what it would feel like to be in an action movie like a James Bond film or The Getaway. Everything from intense car chases, casino shoot-outs, and tense interrogation scenes are here on full display.
Notably, it came out right around the same time as Defector, an Oculus Studios spy-action title from Twisted Pixel, but delivered on its promises far more robustly and is easily the better game. There are lots of different experiences that put a gun in your hand and ask you to shoot scores of virtual people in VR, but few of them make you feel like an action hero as acutely as Blood & Truth.
Blood & Truth is a PSVR exclusive available now. Read our full review for more details!
Sony’s PlayStation London Studio, the developer behind PSVR exclusive Blood & Truth, is already at work on their next VR exclusive project, Road to VR has learned. Considering the timing and scope of London Studio’s work, we expect the title will target next-gen PSVR 2 and PS5 hardware.
PlayStation London Studio has been on the leading edge of VR game development from the earliest days of PlayStation VR. The studio was responsible for the PSVR launch title PlayStation VR Worlds (2016), a collection of mini-games which remains today one of the best introductions to the possibilities of VR gaming. The studio’s latest project was the PSVR blockbuster Blood & Truth (2019)which raised the bar on storytelling, interaction, and graphics on the platform.
London Studio’s Next PSVR Title
Blood & Truth concept art | Image courtesy Sony London Studio
Considering its contribution to the medium, it’s great news to hear that London Studio isn’t finish with VR just yet, in fact it may just be getting started.
While the studio hasn’t outwardly announced that a new VR exclusive title is in the works, Road to VR has come across recent job listings which confirm that studio is ramping up its team for a new VR title. All seven of the studio’s current job openings are for VR specifically, and several make it clear what’s on the docket (our bolding below):
VR – Tech: Game AI Programmer
PlayStation London Studio is looking for an experienced AI Programmer to join the Gameplay team, working on their next exclusive virtual reality title following the recent launch of Blood & Truth on PSVR.
VR – Tech: Gameplay Programmer
Working with creatives and the wider technical team, you will utilize your experience and passion for developing gameplay, realizing the creative ambition for our next VR title.
We don’t expect to hear officially about London Studio’s next VR title until the middle of 2020 at the earliest, but with the job openings describing an emphasis on “exciting combat focused gameplay,” it’s likely that the studio intends to continue with the shooter genre. Blood & Truth set forth a working formula, and its story conclusion left the door open for a new chapter; we wouldn’t be surprised to find that the next title is in fact ‘Blood & Truth 2’, but we also wouldn’t put it past London Studio to dream up something entirely new.
VR Ambitions
While PlayStation London Studio has a lengthy game development history dating all the way back to 2002, the studio has recently embraced VR as its central pillar. VR is clearly the main focus on the studio’s official website; snippets of text on the site highlighting VR development and another recent job listing make obvious the studio’s direction and ambition (again, our bolding below):
VR – Production: Production Director
Sony London Studio is leading the charge in building AAA VR games—our vision is to become the World’s Best AAA VR Games Developer—and, with our most recent release, Blood & Truth, we’ve taken a bold step forward towards this ambitious vision.
[…] You will develop and grow the competencies of the current production team towards our AAA vision. We are looking for you to join us with pushing the boundaries within the VR medium and setting the bar for the rest of the industry to follow!
London Studio’s Next VR Game Will Likely be on PSVR 2
Early PSVR ‘Project Morpheus’ prototype | Photo courtesy Sony
We don’t have concrete evidence that London Studio’s next VR title is being made for PSVR 2 and PS5, but there’s a handful of clues pointing in that direction.
First, the timing. Launched in late 2016, PSVR is now more than three years old. While it’s still a leading VR platform, the hardware—both the headset and the console that powers it—is starting to clearly show its age. With London Studio focusing on AAA scope, their development timeframe for a new VR title is likely in the order of one year at a minimum, but likely closer to two years. If the studio’s next big VR title launched in late 2020 or even 2021, it would need to run on a seven year old console and a four year old VR headset.
Sony has all but confirmed that PSVR 2 hardware is in the works for PS5. As a first-party PlayStation studio, London Studio is in the ideal position to already be working on a game targeting next-gen PSVR hardware. Not only is the studio in the right place, but it already has an established history of working on PSVR launch content with PlayStation VR Worlds which shipped alongside PSVR—if anyone is getting early access to PS5 and PSVR 2 dev kits to build a launch title, it’s London Studio.
Further, more of the studio’s recent job postings allude to work on next-gen hardware and experiences (our bolding below):
VR – Design: Level/Mission Designer
PlayStation’s London Studio is looking for Mission Designers with a wide range of skills to join an experienced team of developers working on the future of VR gaming. As a 1st Party Studio our remit is to produce games which show the exciting potential of the latest PlayStation hardware.
VR – Design: Technical Game Designer
The team have already released VR Worlds and Blood & Truth and are moving on to the next big thing in VR – and we want you to join us!
Signaling PlayStation’s Commitment to VR
Image courtesy PlayStationpla
This isn’t just good news for fans of Blood & Truth and London Studio, it’s a clear signal that PlayStation’s commitment to VR is as strong as ever, if not stronger. Allowing an entire first-party studio to devote itself to AAA VR is no small investment, especially when that studio could just as easily be working on titles that address the much larger non-VR market.
This isn’t the only evidence that PlayStation is still gung-ho on VR either, the company is still focused on growing its library of VR content and aggressively marketing PSVR right alongside PS4 and PS4 Pro.
And while it surely wasn’t the primary reason that Sony acquired Insomniac Games—the veteran VR developer behind several Oculus exclusive titles, including Stormland (2019)—there’s a good chance that PlayStation will let the studio see what it can come up with on next-gen PSVR hardware.
There might only be a couple of weeks to Christmas so looking for a new job is probably the last thing on most people’s minds. But if starting another career path would be your ideal present this year and you happen to love virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) gaming then take a look at the festive selection box below.
Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there’s always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hubto check as well.
If you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to Peter Graham (pgraham@vrfocus.com).
We’ll see you next week on VRFocus at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.
Who doesn’t like a good Twitter rumour occasionally? This week a rather interesting one has made an appearance concerning none other than 2017s Horizon: Zero Dawn, the epic action-adventure title from Guerrilla Games. A PlayStation 4 exclusive, supposedly there are developments going on regarding a PlayStation VR version.
The rumour comes by way of Callum Hurley, who has worked in the virtual reality (VR) industry for a while, most recently IPG a VR esports company. In a Twitter posting Hurley said: “Was recently made aware of a very exciting new PlayStation VR game coming out of London Studio. Not sure whether it’ll be for PS4, PS5 or both, but it’s really exciting, and an announcement could be on the Horizon…”
With a little capitalisation emphasis on the ‘Horizon’ part and a further cheeky gif posted to someone commenting, it does seem as though he’s offering a not too subtle hint. Of course, there’s been no official confirmation that Horizon: Zero Dawn is coming anywhere near PlayStation VR, but it would make for a great VR experience thanks to a heavy reliance on bow mechanics. Also, it would more than likely be a spin-off set in the same universe rather than an actual port like Skyrim VR because of who is supposedly making it.
Sony London Studio is well versed in VR development, having released the very well received Blood & Truthearlier this year. It proved to be a finely balanced mixture of storyline, action sequences and plenty of guns, all wrapped up in a glossy AAA development finish.
Although it does beg the question why London Studio is making it when Guerrilla Games does have past VR experience thanks to RIGS: Mechanised Combat League. Guerrilla Cambridge did make the sports experience while Guerrilla Games Amsterdam made Horizon: Zero Dawn, so there is the possibility when Guerrilla Cambridge closed in 2017, that VR experience was lost.
In any case, this is still very much rumour at the moment. What isn’t is the fact that PlayStation 5 has been very much confirmed for 2020 alongside a few specs. VRFocus will continue its coverage of PlayStation VR, reporting back with the latest updates.
After a successful launch in May, Sony London Studio has continued to support its story-driven shooter Blood & Truth with updates and even a demo. Now the studio has released its biggest package of new features, adding a hard mode as well as challenges which support the PlayStation Aim controller.
Sony London Studio has introduced five Skeet challenges to test your shooting abilities, all of which are PlayStation Aim compatible. These are:
Authentic Skeet: Move between eight stations shooting at high and low clays launched as singles or doubles, with 25 being the perfect score.
Extreme Skeet: Set on London’s rooftops, you’ll between eight stations shooting at high and low clays launched as singles or doubles. Extra targets will appear for additional points.
Endurance Skeet: Clays are launched from high towers and you lose a life for every clay missed. You only have three lives but can earn any lost life’s back by scoring three consecutive hits.
Puzzle Skeet: Hit three targets to release a coloured clay. Lights switch on with each hit target tell you which colour clay you need to shoot next. Hit the Clay to move on to the next set of targets, miss and you need to hit the three targets again to relaunch the clay.
Action Skeet: A training challenge, which includes static and launched targets.
For those that have breezed through the campaign and want a real test of skill, there’s the new Hard Mode. As you’d expect Hard mode means you have less health to start with and your recovery is slower, enemies are a lot more accurate, and Precision Mode comes with less time to use it. Hard Mode allows you to replay individual missions or the entire campaign using the New Game+ feature.
Blood & Truth has proven to be one of the best PlayStation VR titles this year, with VRFocus giving the videogame a full five star review, commenting: “While you don’t have the freedom of Borderlands 2 VR for example, with Blood & Truth you have a far more focused videogame that knows what it wants to achieve, and that’s put a smile on your face. From start to finish Blood & Truth is one hell of a ride, a finely choreographed John Woo movie that’s all about sheer entertainment.”
VRFocus will continue its coverage of Blood & Truth and Sony London Studio, reporting back with the latest updates and announcements.
London Studio, the British team behind PlayStation VR adventure Blood & Truth may have released a free demo last week to showcase the title but it has much greater plans in store. That announcement saw the studio tease details on a new update due to arrive later this week, so VRFocus caught up with Stuart Whyte, Director of VR Product Development to find out more.
Blood & Truth has been out for a couple of months now and London Studio has been working on several new updates which will help to extend the life of the experience, including a New Game + mode so that you can replay the entire storyline again and pick up the items you missed, getting 100% completion in the process.
Leaderboards will be introduced across all levels and Challenges so you can compete against your mates – or anyone else for that matter. Whyte also confirms that the team is working to expand the roster of Challenges with more due to arrive in the months to come.
The most interesting part of the interview comes when Whyte indicates that the Blood & Truth franchise may become bigger than just one videogame if fans love the experience. Seeing as the response to Blood & Truth has been overwhelmingly positive, then fans may see more of this gritty London narrative.
It was certainly one of VRFocus’ favourite PlayStation VR titles of 2019, giving the videogame a full five star review, commenting: “While you don’t have the freedom of Borderlands 2 VR for example, with Blood & Truth you have a far more focused videogame that knows what it wants to achieve, and that’s put a smile on your face. From start to finish Blood & Truth is one hell of a ride, a finely choreographed John Woo movie that’s all about sheer entertainment.”
Whyte is also very positive about the VR videogame industry as a whole. Thanks to lots of experimentation over the last couple of years he expects to see ‘new genres and new types of games’ coming to VR systems in the future.
